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Scientists at the University of Oxford are coating objects such as backpacks, cars and cell phones with a new solar energy-generating material
The University of Oxford is about to transform the field of solar energy with an innovation that promises to expand the possibilities for generating solar electricity. Scientists at the institution are introducing a new solar energy generating material which is not only thin and flexible, but also efficient enough to be applied to a wide range of surfaces and objects, according to the Electrek website.
The new material: achieves energy efficiency of over 27%
The new material developed by Oxford researchers is a advanced form of thin-film perovskitea, which stands out for its ability to absorb sunlight with high efficiency. Certified by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) of Japan, This material achieves an energy efficiency of over 27%, a significant milestone which rivals the performance of traditional single-layer silicon solar panels.
This advancement in panel dependence was possible thanks to the multi-junction approach, which stacks multiple light-absorbing layers into a single solar cell. This technique allows capturing a wider range of the light spectrum, resulting in greater energy production from the same amount of sunlight.
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Dr. Shuaifeng Hu, postdoctoral researcher in Physics at the University of Oxford, highlighted the impressive progress: “In just five years of experimenting with our stacking or multijunction approach, we have increased power conversion efficiency from about 6% to more than 27%. We believe that, over time, this approach could allow photovoltaic devices to achieve much higher efficiencies, possibly greater than 45%.”
Solar energy: ultra-thin material, 150x thinner than a silicon wafer
One of the main advantages of this new material isits ultra-thin thickness of just over one micron, making it approximately 150 times thinner than a silicon wafer. This allows the material to be applied to almost any surface, which significantly expands the possibilities of use.
Dr. Junke Wang, Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions postdoctoral fellow, visualizes diverse applications for the technology: “We can imagine perovskite coatings being applied to surfaces such as car roofs, buildings and even the backs of cell phones. If more solar energy can be generated this way, we can foresee a reduction in the need for traditional silicon panels and less need to build large solar farms.”
The business now is to produce on scale!
Oxford University's pioneering work on perovskite photovoltaics began about a decade ago under the leadership of Renewable Energy Professor Henry Snaith. Recently, Oxford PV, a spin-off company from the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, began large-scale production of perovskite solar cells at its factory in Brandenburg-an-der-Havel, Germany. This facility is the first in the world dedicated to manufacturing “perovskite-on-silicon” tandem solar cells".
This development represents a significant step in the commercialization of advanced solar technology, potentially disrupting the global solar energy market and promoting broader adoption of sustainable and efficient solutions. The new perovskite material not only offers an alternative to traditional solar panels, but also opens the door to innovations that could shape the future of clean energy generation.
