Posts Tagged solar cells

Organic Solar Cells Market to Skyrocket in 10 Years, Report Says

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on May 16, 2012

If you are about to invest in silicon-based photovoltaics, please stop for a moment and read this. IDTechEx, a market research company, has published a report saying that the organic (not silicon) photovoltaic market is about to hit a value of $630 million in ten years. The growth will be stupendous: 1300% from today’s $4.6 [...]

Gold Nanodots Could Improve Solar Cell Efficiency, Researchers Say

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on December 9, 2011

An international team of researchers from France and Denmark have recently discovered that, by using a thin film of gold nanodots in solar cells could improve their conversion efficiency. The 0.5 nanometer-thick nanodots thus find applicability in the field of organic photovoltaics, where the researchers want to cover the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode layer [...]

Grätzel's New Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Cheaper and More Efficient

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on November 9, 2011

As our loyal readers already know, Michael Grätzel invented dye-sensitized solar cells 20 years ago, but, despite their low price, these organic cells have proved rather inefficient. However, Grätzel now found a solution for the cells to be cheaper and more efficient. Grätzel’s cells use organic dyes to absorb sunlight, which hits the titanium dioxide [...]

Record: AltaDevices Brags 28.2 Percent Efficient Gallium Arsenide Solar Cell

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on June 28, 2011

A new solar cell efficiency record has been achieved by a startup CA-based company called Alta Devices. Previously unknown, the Santa Clara firm brags an efficiency of 28.2 percent for their gallium-arsenide solar cell, a number 2 percent higher than last year’s previous record, and could eventually bring down the costs of solar power to make it compete with coal and gas.

Atom-Thick Coating Helps Researchers Achieve Artificial Photosynthesis

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Hydrogen Power, Solar Power on May 11, 2011

By growing layers of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide on a semiconductor surface, researchers from the ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â°cole polytechnique fÃƒÆ’©dÃƒÆ’©rale de Lausanne (EPFL) have managed to create solar cells that can ultimately extract hydrogen from water under the direct action of sunlight, just like leaves do their natural photosynthesis.

MIT Engineered Virus Could Make Solar Cells More Efficient

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on April 26, 2011

Viruses are mostly seen as the bad side of nature, the fallen creation or just that unwanted flu during those sunny days when you were supposed to go play outside. For Angela Belcher viruses are working tools, since she and her MIT colleagues have just found a way to guide some of them so they make solar cells more efficient, by as much as a third.

Organic Solar Cells Greener Than Silicon-Based Ones, Rochester Study Reveals

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on September 18, 2010

A recent study, conducted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, reveals that the total energy needed to make organic solar cells is less than the one needed to make inorganic solar cells.

Barack Obama Refuses New Solar Panels On The White House

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on September 14, 2010

U.S. president Barack Obama has recently refused a proposal to reinstall solar panels on the White House rooftops. The proposal came from Bill McKibben, the founder of a group of environmental activists, who went to Obama in a biodiesel-powered van. Ex-president Jimmy Carter had installed the proposed solar panels on the White House back in 1979. They used to provide heat and were a logo of America’s will to free itself from foreign oil.

Heliatek: World's First Company to Manufacture and Commercialize Organic Solar Cells

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on September 6, 2010

The first organic solar cell has come from Switzerland. It seems somehow normal that the first practical application and the first organic solar cell manufacturer to come from Germany – doesn’t it?

Neo Solar Power Builds New Solar Plant in Taiwan

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on September 2, 2010

The new factory is expected to have a 3.4 GW capacity, almost 1 GW more compared to the capacity produced by all Taiwanese manufacturers.

Solar Roadways Reinventing How We Build Our Paths That Charge Our Cars

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in New Inventions, Solar Power on August 5, 2010

The world struggles to make a place for solar panels on the planet, and it looks like there’s not enough space for that. A team of visionaries have planned what they call the next big thing in alternative energy: solar powered roadways. Here’s a short introductory video about what these guys do with the $200 [...]

Swiss Huge Airplane Powered Only by Solar Cells Takes Off For 36h Flight

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on April 2, 2010

A huge plane powered by solar energy is being tested in Switzerland. In December, the airplane made its first successful test flight, rising at a height of just one meter above the ground.

NREL Building PDIL: Six Automated Robots Helping Solar Industry's R&D

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on March 25, 2010

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has built a robot that will help the R&D of thin film solar cells, analyzing possible defects faster and more accurate than any other existing system. It is called the PDIL (Process Development and Integration Laboratory).

IBM's Efficient Thin Film Solar Cell Made of Cheap Materials

Posted by Cristi in Solar Power on February 15, 2010

They managed to increase the efficiency with almost 40% of their solar cells, from 6,7 percent to 9,6 percent. To reduce even more the costs, these solar cells are build with an inexpensive ink-based process.

Sixtron's Antireflective Coatings Solve Safety and Efficiency Issues in Solar Cell Technology

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on February 3, 2010

Up to now, the most used antireflective coating method has been the vapor deposition of a silicon nitride film by using a highly-flamable silane gas, which can ignite when exposed to air. Transporting, storing, ventilating silane gas and other safety-keeping operation make the process very expensive.

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