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Discover How Flexible And Durable Solar Cells Harvest Energy From Any Light, Even From A Candle, Ending The Need For Batteries And Cables In Devices
Every year, 3.1 billion batteries are disposed of… just from TV remote controls. Getting our devices to charge themselves (whether with sunlight, artificial light, or even candlelight) would free us from the need to plug them in or change their batteries, making them much more sustainable and energy-efficient.
The Promise Of Exeger’s Powerfoyle
The Swedish company Exeger has developed flexible photovoltaic cells that promise to change our relationship with electronics: they are specialized in converting light from virtually all internal sources into electricity. Their creators compare the technology, capable of harnessing candlelight, to algae at the bottom of the ocean, where darkness is nearly total: “we can efficiently use just a few photons.”
“The Biggest Advance Since 1988”
Although photovoltaic cells have been in devices like calculators for over 50 years, this is “the biggest advance since 1988,” says Giovanni Fili, co-founder of Exeger.
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While heat evaporates water from reservoirs and countries seek new areas for clean energy, Morocco is testing floating solar panels that function as an energy lid and also generate electricity.
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China occupies the desert with a 2 GW solar power plant in Inner Mongolia, installs elevated panels that create shade and humidity over the sand, and transforms a 2.96 billion kWh per year farm into an unexpected weapon against desertification.
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Saudi Arabia is building in Oxagon a US$ 8.4 billion mega green hydrogen plant with 4 GW of solar and wind energy, 5.6 million solar panels, and capacity to produce 600 tons per day, transforming the desert into one of the planet’s largest clean fuel factories.
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Germany and Denmark will transform Bornholm into a Baltic power island, connecting 3 GW of offshore wind power to the grids of the two countries via submarine cables and turning a real island into an international energy hub.
He refers to the year when researchers at the University of California discovered how to produce low-cost flexible cells. However, they were too fragile and inefficient to be integrated into complex electronic devices like Bluetooth headphones.
A New Type Of Electrode For Energy Harvesting
Fili and his partner, Henrik Lindström, patented a new material with a conductivity one thousand times greater than standard electrodes (the component that allows for the collection and transport of electrical current in the photovoltaic cell).
In addition to being flexible, this skin-like material is resistant to water, dust, and impacts, making it suitable for modern electronic devices, ensuring efficiency and durability in energy harvesting.
A Long Way To Go
A technical document lowers expectations. For now, Powerfoyle cells deliver a voltage between 0.57 and 0.6 volts when exposed to light from 100 to 1000 lux (an LED with a color temperature of 5000K). The output power varies between 6 and 54 microwatts per square centimeter. Part of the problem is that the material produces a considerable shadow that reduces its efficiency. Powerfoyle is still not enough to recharge a smartphone completely, Exeger admits, but it can increase its battery life by 50%.
They Are Already Being Mass Produced
Exeger has been working on this invention for years and already has the capacity to produce 2.5 million square meters of Powerfoyle film per year, which is printed with a “ultra-secret” machine. The first generation is already ready to hit the market in products like headphones, wireless speakers, and a bicycle helmet. Among its clients are Philips, Marshall, Kapsch, and Adidas. The company hopes to reach one billion people by 2030 one way or another.
More Information | Exeger
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