MIT engineers have developed a solar cell that is so light and so thin that it can be applied on any surface and turn it into a power source. Adam Zewe for MIT News even says that they are so thin that “these solar cells can be laminated onto many different surfaces. For instance, they could be integrated onto the sails of a boat to provide power while at sea, adhered onto tents and tarps that are deployed in disaster recovery operations, or applied onto the wings of drones to extend their flying range”. The advantages that this technology can bring are so evident and so disruptive that they cannot be ignored. This innovation will allow basically anything to become a solar panel, no matter the location or the circumstances.
The “paper-thin solar panels” are made from printable electronic inks and work by gluing them to a flexible surface like a fabric (Dyneema), which makes it easy to install them on any surface without the solar panel getting damaged or torn in the process. They are one-hundredth the weight of conventional solar panels and generate 18 times more power-per-kilogram. And the best part is that, by being made from semiconducting inks that can be printed, it is easy to easily scale up the manufacturing process of this technology at any time.
Researchers “also tested the durability of their devices and found that, even after rolling and unrolling a fabric solar panel more than 500 times, the cells still retained more than 90 percent of their initial power generation capabilities”.
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Another innovation in the solar industry that increases the adaptability of solar panels, is represented by transparent solar panels that can replaces traditional windows, and help power buildings all around the world. The process involves adding a coating on traditional glass windows, keeping the characteristics of a traditional window. This coating is made by Ubiquitous Energy and contains a special mix of organic salts. This could turn skyscrapers into solar power houses.
The same coating can be applied on cell-phones and laptops to power the devices.
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