Would You Invest in a Solar Cell That Works Even Away from the Sun? Technology Challenges the Current Market by Generating Energy at All Times, Even Indoors

Written by Rannyson Moura

Published on 28/01/2026 at 13:45

Updated on 28/01/2026 at 13:48

Nova célula solar, desenvolvida por pesquisadores brasileiros e italianos, gera eletricidade com luz artificial e reacende o debate sobre o futuro da energia limpa em interiores.

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New Solar Cell Developed by Brazilian and Italian Researchers Generates Electricity with Artificial Light and Reignites the Debate on the Future of Clean Energy in Indoors.

A solar cell capable of generating electricity without directly depending on sunlight is changing the clean energy landscape.

Researchers from Brazil and Italy have developed a new generation of solar cells aimed at indoor environments, using common artificial light such as that from residential and commercial bulbs.

The technology relies on a semiconductor material different from traditional silicon. The central element is perovskite, produced in a lab and considered one of the greatest promises of modern photovoltaic energy.

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Artificial Light Becomes a Real Source of Electricity

The market for photovoltaic devices for indoors is seen as a sleeping giant. Sensors, remote controls, smart devices, and low-power industrial equipment still heavily rely on disposable batteries.

However, artificial lighting has always been insufficient to efficiently power these systems.

The new perovskite solar cells change this scenario. Tests show excellent performance under common levels of indoor lighting, such as 1,000, 500, and even 200 lux.

This opens the door for equipment that operates continuously, without frequent battery changes.

Innovative Treatment Improves Efficiency of the Solar Cell

The advancement was led by researchers from CINE (Center for Innovation in New Energies), in partnership with Italian institutions. The team created an innovative surface treatment for the main layer of the solar cell, composed of perovskite.

The process involves applying a ultrathin layer formed by a mixture of the organic salt PEAI (phenetylammonium iodide) with the additive DIO (1,8-diiodooctane). This combination spontaneously generates a two-dimensional perovskite over the three-dimensional base structure, reducing defects and improving the transport of electric charges.

Another noteworthy point is the simplicity of the process. The treatment occurs at room temperature, without the need for complex thermal steps, which reduces costs and facilitates large-scale production.

Small Panels and Immediate Applications

The technique has already been applied to cells of different sizes, including modules of up to 121 cm², formed by 15 cells connected in series.

In practice, it is a small solar panel designed specifically for indoor environments.

The tests reinforce the potential of the perovskite solar cell to power low-power electronics in homes, businesses, and industries, reducing waste and increasing the use of clean energy in enclosed spaces.

“The strategy developed shows strong competitive potential compared to other methodologies for producing perovskite solar cells and modules, especially due to its simplicity of manufacturing and low cost impact,” emphasized Francineide.

If a solar cell works even with artificial light, does it still make sense to depend on disposable batteries?

Would You Invest in a Solar Cell That Works Even Away from the Sun? Technology Challenges the Current Market by Generating Energy at All Times, Even Indoors

New Solar Cell Developed by Brazilian and Italian Researchers Generates Electricity with Artificial Light and Reignites the Debate on the Future of Clean Energy in Indoors.

Artificial Light Becomes a Real Source of Electricity

Innovative Treatment Improves Efficiency of the Solar Cell

Small Panels and Immediate Applications

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Would You Invest in a Solar Cell That Works Even Away from the Sun? Technology Challenges the Current Market by Generating Energy at All Times, Even Indoors

New Solar Cell Developed by Brazilian and Italian Researchers Generates Electricity with Artificial Light and Reignites the Debate on the Future of Clean Energy in Indoors.

Artificial Light Becomes a Real Source of Electricity

Innovative Treatment Improves Efficiency of the Solar Cell

Small Panels and Immediate Applications

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.

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.

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.

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.

A 250-ton transformer traveled 1,929 km by road in India on a slow and planned journey that demonstrates how the power grid relies on giant loads, detours, and impossible routes for regular trucks.

The era of silicon alone in solar energy comes to an end with the arrival of perovskite, a material that captures a broader light spectrum, is applied as a thin film, and, together with silicon, reaches a theoretical limit of 45% efficiency in tandem modules.

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African country launched a $145 million project to rehabilitate 35 dams and drill deep wells seeking water stored for millennia beneath the desert, a plan that Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government presents as a path to the country’s water sovereignty.

A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.

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