One year after announcing an efficiency record, Empa scientists have achieved a new mark of 22.2% for flexible CIGS solar cell on polymer film. Solar cells of this type are especially suited for applications on buildings, vehicles, satellites, airships, and mobile devices. Empa researchers have – once again – improved the efficiency of CIGS flexible Read more about Flexible solar cells with record efficiency of 22.2%[…]
A group of scientists at Empa has pushed the efficiency of flexible solar cells to a new limit. Independent measurements revealed an efficiency of 21.4 percent when these types of solar cells convert light into electricity. For comparison: the best efficiency of a non-flexible solar cell made of crystalline silicon is reported at 26.7 percent. Read more about Efficiency of flexible solar cells to a new limit[…]
The demand for flexible wearable electronics has spiked with the dramatic growth of smart devices that can exchange data with other devices over the internet with embedded sensors, software, and other technologies. Researchers consequently have focused on exploring flexible energy storage devices, such as flexible supercapacitators (FSCs), that are lightweight and safe and easily integrate Read more about Printed electronics offer the advantage of flexibility and low cost[…]
North Carolina State University-led researchers have developed an analytical measurement “framework” which could allow organic solar cell researchers and manufacturers to determine which materials will produce the most stable solar cells prior to manufacture. Organic solar cells have increased in efficiency over the past decades, but researchers and manufacturers still struggle with determining which material Read more about Efficient solar cells under analysis prediction[…]
With the recent development of foldable mobile phone screens, research on foldable electronics has never been so intensive. One particularly useful application of the foldable technology is in solar panels. Current solar cells are restricted to rigid, flat panels, which are difficult to store in large numbers and integrate into everyday appliances, including phones, windows, Read more about Novel breakthrough in solar harvesting technology[…]
A new method for constructing special solar cells could significantly increase their efficiency. Not only are the cells made up of thin layers, they also consist of specifically arranged nanoblocks. This has been shown in a new study by an international research team led by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), which was published in Read more about New nanocomposite material to increase solar cell efficiency[…]
Photovoltaic and solar thermal systems are not always considered aesthetically enhancing to a building. The coloured modules, however, being developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE are refreshingly challenging this perspective. Inspired by the phenomen that causes the shimmerings shades of blue or green of the wings of the morpho butterfly, the Read more about Solar modules to contribute for aesthetically pleasing energy-plus buildings[…]
Imagine you’re walking through the city on a sunny summer day. You look at the skyscrapers, the shop buildings, lampposts and electric taxis driving tirelessly to and fro. What you can’t see is that every single piece of their surface is generating and storing its own electricity. The solar cells on these surfaces are interconnected Read more about Photovoltatronics viewed as smart solar revolution[…]
A printable ink with an unsurpassed conductivity and transparency tradeoff has been developed by a KAUST team for use in solar panels, and for the novel blocking of electromagnetic waves. Metals, such as copper and gold, generate little heat when a current flows through them. For this reason, these high-conductivity materials are used extensively in Read more about A new electromagnetic radiation shield[…]
By combining light-collecting and photosynthesis proteins of different types, more energy can be produced. Potential sources of renewable energy include protein complexes that are responsible for photosynthesis. However, their efficiency in technical applications still leaves much to be desired. For example, they cannot convert green light into energy. A research team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) Read more about Biosolar cells to produce more energy[…]
A Washington State University team has developed a more efficient, safer, and cost-effective way to produce cadmium telluride (CdTe) material for solar cells or other applications, a discovery that could advance the solar industry and make it more competitive. The researchers showed they could rapidly grow a large amount of high-purity CdTe material,a more than Read more about New technique way that could advance the solar industry[…]
A new spectroscopic method now makes it possible to measure and visualise the energetic landscape inside solar cells based on organic materials. It was developed by a research team led by Prof. Dr Yana Vaynzof, a physicist at Heidelberg University. This novel visualisation technique enables scientists to study the physical principles of organic photovoltaics with Read more about A new energy map for energetic losses[…]