Tata Steel in collaboration with the Australian solar technology company Dyesol and the Swansea University has developed a process to coat a 10-foot long girder with a light-sensitive coating to make it a solar module. At this size, it is said to be the world’s largest girder with such a coating. Being able to coat this girder with photovoltaics also opens up possibilities of coating windows, facades, canopies, and other material used in the building-construction industry.
Coating of steel for corrosion protection or aesthetics is a well-established process. In this new development, using an electrolyte, a layer of titania pigment, which is used in white paints or even toothpaste, is roll-coated on the steel surface with a ruthenium dye. When light falls on the dye, it excites electrons that are conducted away by the titania layer. This process has been described as “artificial photosynthesis” by Dyesol. The dye-based solar cell is said to be effective both in direct sunlight and in diffused light. The conversion efficiency at around 10% is significantly lower than the 30% achieved with rigid-silicon cells, but the cost of per kilowatt electricity generated is expected to be lower.
This new development has exciting implications for the emerging Building Integrated Photovoltaics industry. The global market for building envelope materials is estimated to be $ 400 billion. Tata Steel has surveyed its customers and report their excitement at the prospect that up to 20% of the power consumed in a building could be generated by its steel envelope. Further work is being done on commercializing this process, and a team of 50 researchers has been set up at the Port Talbot plant of Tata Steel in South Wales. Their would work toward developing refined process of coating with the target of making a demonstration building within 3 years.
Via: CNet
