Your Phone, or Clothing- These Paperthin Solar Cells Be Added To Any Surface

Thin film solar cells

Energy-producing thin-film materials with photovoltaic cells that can be added to clothing- sounds like a far-fetched thought, but MIT scientists are on their way to turning the thought into a reality. A team of researchers have made thin layers of photovoltaic cells that come with a series of advantages.

The said thin-film materials are much lighter in weight in comparison to their regular solar panel counterparts. What’s more, these lightweight materials can be added to any kind of surface that you can imagine, including clothing, or even your smartphone.

The devices, which employ semiconducting printable electronic inks, can produce nearly 370 watts of power per kilogram. As opposed to regular solar panels, this is almost 18 times more! At the same time, these way much, much less than the conventional panels.

The robust, ultra-thin films are well-protected by resistant composite fabric substrate that is also light in weight. Notably, these small textile solar panels continued to retain 90% of their ability to produce energy despite being rolled and unrolled over 500 times.

The promising invention has several applications. They can be added to tents for disaster recovery management or even to a boat to generate energy at sea. Once integrated into drone wings, they can also augment the flying range of the drones.

Even though the idea is promising and has a lot to offer, there is a challenge on its way. One material that makes up the cells of the device is not humidity-resistant and when it comes into contact with atmospheric oxygen.

Because the silicon solar cells are heavier in weight, it has been challenging to increase the deployment of solar energy. Thin-film solar cells, on the other hand, are a boon for manufacturers as they are lighter in weight. They are also easier and cheaper to manufacture. However, they become just as heavy as regular modules once they are deposited onto a sheet of glass. The solar industry could grow in an unprecedented way once a solution is figured out to reduce the weight.

Currently, First Solar is known for making thin film solar cells.