New research shows that a 100 -fold coating than a human hair can be applied by “dye jet” to your backpack, cell phone or car ceiling to enjoy the sun’s energy, in a development that can reduce the worldwide need for solar farms that occupy large areas of land.
Scientists at the University of Oxford Department of Physics have developed ultra -thin material that absorbs light and is flexible enough to be applied to the surface of almost any building or object – with the potential to generate almost twice the amount of energy of today’s solar panels.
Technology comes at a critical moment for solar boom, as man -made climate change is rapidly warming the planet, forcing the world to accelerate its transition to clean energy.
See how it works: Solar coating is made of materials called perovskitas, which are more efficient in absorbing solar energy than silicon -based panels widely used today. This is because their light absorption layers can capture a wider range of light on the solar spectrum than traditional panels. AND More light means more energy.
Oxford scientists are not the only ones to produce this type of coating, but theirs are remarkably efficient, capturing about 27% of solar energy. Current solar panels that use silicon cells by comparison usually convert to 22% of sunlight into energy.
Researchers believe that over time, Perovskitas will be able to provide more than 45%efficiency, which points to the increase in income they have achieved in only five years of experiments, from 6%to 27%.
“This is important because it promises more solar energy without the need for silicon -based panels or especially built solar plants,” said Junke Wang, one of Oxford’s scientists. “We can imagine Perovskita coatings being applied to broader types of surfaces to generate cheap solar energy, such as the ceiling of cars and buildings and even the back of mobile phones.”
With just over one thick micron, the coating is 150 times thinner than a silicon blade used in today’s solar panels. And unlike existing silicon panels, perovskites can be applied to virtually any surface, including plastics and paper, using tools such as a paint jet printer.
Globally, solar panel facilities fired, growing 80% by 2023 compared to 2022, according to Wood Mackenzie, a company that specializes in data and cleaning data analysis. Solar energy was the source of faster growth electricity by 2023 for the 19th consecutive year, according to the 2024 Think Tank Electricity Electricity Review.
One of the main drivers of this boom is the drop in the cost of solar energy, which has now become cheaper to produce than any other form of energy, including fossil fuels. Another important factor that drives the rise of solar energy is its increasing efficiency in the conversion of solar energy.
But terrestrial solar parks occupy many lands and are often at the center of conflicts between agricultural industry and governments and companies behind renewable facilities.
Oxford researchers say their technology can offer a solution to this problem while reducing energy costs. But Wang noted that the research group does not defend the end of solar plants.
“I would not say that we want to eliminate solar parks because we obviously need many areas or surfaces to generate enough solar energy,” he told the CNN .
A persistent problem with Perovskitas, however, is stability, which has prevented its developers from marketing technology. Some laboratory coatings dissolve or break in short periods of time and are considered less durable than current solar panels. Scientists are working to extend their service life.
Henry Snaith, chief researcher at Oxford team, said his work has strong commercial potential and can be used in industries such as car construction and manufacture.
“The latest innovations in solar materials and techniques demonstrated in our laboratories can become a platform for a new industry, making materials to generate solar energy more sustainably and cheaply using existing buildings, vehicles and objects,” he said.
Snaith is also head of the Oxford PV, a company derived from the University of Oxford Physics, which recently started manufacturing on a large scale of Perovskita solar panels at his factory in Germany.
Solar Energy: São Paulo will have first service by subscription
This content was originally published in Clean Energy: New technology prints solar panel on backpacks and cell phones on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
