Solar panels now use rain as an ally in a system that captures light and the impact of raindrops simultaneously to generate energy.

Written by Noel Budeguer

Published on 13/04/2026 at 12:03

Be the first to react!

With a layer of just 100 nanometers, the new solar module can resist moisture, capture energy from rain, and maintain operation on cloudy days, changing the role of bad weather in electrical production

More than a technical advancement, the new technology changes a historical limitation of solar energy. On cloudy or rainy days, production has always dropped sharply, reducing system efficiency.

Now, this scenario begins to transform. A solution developed in Spain allows rain to cease being an obstacle and instead act as an additional source of electricity, increasing generation even when the sun does not shine.

Seville Institute develops solution with ultrathin layer

The advancement was created by the Institute of Materials Science of Seville, responsible for developing a layer of just 100 nanometers applied over perovskite solar cells.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Plasma techniques reinforce resistance and generation

Visual representation of the parts that make up a manufactured solar module. (sciencedirect.com)

To solve this limitation, researchers used plasma techniques capable of forming a protective barrier more resistant to external conditions.

In addition to protection, this layer adds triboelectric properties. In practice, the panel begins to convert the impact of raindrops into electrical energy, creating a second source of generation in the same equipment.

Impact of the drops can generate up to 110 volts

Each time water hits the surface of the panel, a small electric discharge occurs. In tests, the system produced up to 110 volts per impact, transforming rain into an energy resource.

According to ScienceDirect, an international platform that gathers peer-reviewed scientific studies, the performance indicates that the combination of solar energy and the triboelectric effect can expand the use of these modules in different environments.

Application in sensors and remote areas gains prominence

According to researcher Fernando Núñez, the technology proves especially useful for powering sensors and weather stations in isolated locations.

In these scenarios, changing batteries is expensive and often unfeasible. With the new solution, devices can operate continuously, regardless of weather conditions.

Continuous energy strengthens connected systems

Visual representation of a hybrid solar module designed to capture energy from sunlight and the impact of rain.

The ability to generate energy from both sun and rain simultaneously expands the potential for use in Internet of Things systems.

Scientific equipment, environmental sensors, and remote structures gain greater autonomy. The weather ceases to be a risk factor and begins to contribute to energy stability.

How sunlight continues to generate electricity

Even with the gain brought by rain, the traditional operation of solar energy remains essential. Photovoltaic cells use silicon treated with positive and negative charges to create an internal electric field.

When light hits the panel, particles called photons transfer energy to the electrons. This movement generates an electric current in the form of direct current.

For household use, this energy needs to be converted into alternating current through an inverter, allowing it to power equipment, lighting, and appliances.

The combination of solar capture and rain energy expands the reach of renewable generation. The system begins to operate with greater stability and less dependence on ideal weather.

By transforming a limitation into an advantage, the technology repositions how clean energy can be applied and changes the strategic outlook.

Solar panels now use rain as an ally in a system that captures light and the impact of raindrops simultaneously to generate energy.

With a layer of just 100 nanometers, the new solar module can resist moisture, capture energy from rain, and maintain operation on cloudy days, changing the role of bad weather in electrical production

Seville Institute develops solution with ultrathin layer

Plasma techniques reinforce resistance and generation

Impact of the drops can generate up to 110 volts

Application in sensors and remote areas gains prominence

Continuous energy strengthens connected systems

How sunlight continues to generate electricity

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

Companies from Ceará generate billions and dominate Brazil without many people noticing, with giants born in the state such as Hapvida, Pague Menos, M. Dias Branco, and Três Corações totaling almost R$ 104 billion in revenue just in 2024.

Santa Catarina leads national production in 12 agribusiness chains and dominates more than 50 segments ranging from apples to oysters and from pork to knit fabrics. The state consolidates its position among the five largest producers in Brazil in almost everything it produces.

Scientists reanimated a 48,500-year-old virus in the laboratory that had been frozen in the Siberian permafrost since before the extinction of the Neanderthals, and it was still capable of infecting living organisms after tens of millennia dormant in the ice.

More than 20 billion dollars and 600 km of railway were built in record time in Africa to extract the hidden iron ore from Simandou from the forest, now the first ships are arriving in China and the IMF predicts a 25% jump in Guinea’s GDP.

Around 7,000 jobs are expected to emerge in Navegantes with a new billion-dollar order from Petrobras, which closed R$ 11 billion in contracts to build four hybrid propulsion vessels equipped with underwater robots for the pre-salt layer at the Santa Catarina shipyard.

Solar panels now use rain as an ally in a system that captures light and the impact of raindrops simultaneously to generate energy.

With a layer of just 100 nanometers, the new solar module can resist moisture, capture energy from rain, and maintain operation on cloudy days, changing the role of bad weather in electrical production

Seville Institute develops solution with ultrathin layer

Plasma techniques reinforce resistance and generation

Impact of the drops can generate up to 110 volts

Application in sensors and remote areas gains prominence

Continuous energy strengthens connected systems

How sunlight continues to generate electricity

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

Scientists reanimated a 48,500-year-old virus in the laboratory that had been frozen in the Siberian permafrost since before the extinction of the Neanderthals, and it was still capable of infecting living organisms after tens of millennia dormant in the ice.

The oldest nuclear aircraft carrier still in operation in the world is currently on Brazilian soil making its final journey before retirement, and two American military planes landed in Salvador and Fortaleza to support the mission.

WhatsApp is about to eliminate one of the app’s biggest annoyances; soon a single screen will show all online contacts at the same time without needing to open each conversation individually to find out who is available.

Scientists have discovered that the Earth recycles its own continents in the depths, dragging pieces of crust down during plate collisions and returning them later as magma, in a mechanism called relamination that has helped build the continents for billions of years.

New mathematical model indicates global population decline by 2064 in an extreme scenario of environmental crises, with humanity potentially halving if Earth’s sustainable capacity is reduced to 2 billion people.

Companies from Ceará generate billions and dominate Brazil without many people noticing, with giants born in the state such as Hapvida, Pague Menos, M. Dias Branco, and Três Corações totaling almost R$ 104 billion in revenue just in 2024.

Santa Catarina leads national production in 12 agribusiness chains and dominates more than 50 segments ranging from apples to oysters and from pork to knit fabrics. The state consolidates its position among the five largest producers in Brazil in almost everything it produces.

Scientists reanimated a 48,500-year-old virus in the laboratory that had been frozen in the Siberian permafrost since before the extinction of the Neanderthals, and it was still capable of infecting living organisms after tens of millennia dormant in the ice.

More than 20 billion dollars and 600 km of railway were built in record time in Africa to extract the hidden iron ore from Simandou from the forest, now the first ships are arriving in China and the IMF predicts a 25% jump in Guinea’s GDP.

Around 7,000 jobs are expected to emerge in Navegantes with a new billion-dollar order from Petrobras, which closed R$ 11 billion in contracts to build four hybrid propulsion vessels equipped with underwater robots for the pre-salt layer at the Santa Catarina shipyard.