Eco Factor: Low-cost printable solar cells developed at The University of Texas At Austin.
One of the biggest drawbacks of solar cells available on the market today is their high cost, which keeps homeowners from opting for renewable energy generation. A research conducted at the University of Texas At Austin could answer the problem with the development of a new type of solar cells, which could easily be printed like a newspaper.
The researchers are aiming to reduce the cost of solar cells by as much as 90% by replacing the expensive gas-phase deposition in a vacuum chamber with a new nanomaterial solution. The cells are based on the use of specialized inks that can be printed using a roll-to-roll printing process on a plastic substrate or even stainless steel.
The light-absorbing nanomaterials are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of hair and because of this microscopic size they carry better physical properties that can enable their use in higher-efficiency devices. Currently the cells developed are only 1% efficient, but the research team is hoping that the final version, which could take about 5 years to develop, will be at least 10% efficient.
Via: University of Texas At Austin [Press Release]
