October 2, 2008 A little under two months ago, Biosolar unveiled its BioBacksheet, an innovation which reduces the cost of solar cells by replacing traditional petroleum-based components with materials derived from renewable plant sources. The company has now announced details of improvements to the solar backsheet manufacturing technique that will help to further reduce the cost of production.
The company’s BioBacksheet is currently being readied for production and is expected to deliver a 25% reduction in cost compared to its petroleum-based counterpart used in solar panels, but as a result of ongoing research and development efforts, BioSolar now has a new material configuration and manufacturing technique that can potentially deliver a 50% reduction in cost. A patent application has been filed for this new invention.
BioBacksheet samples have already been sent to a group of manufacturers in the US for evaluation. According to BioSolar CEO, Dr David Lee, the initial test results are very encouraging. “With solar cell demand expected to exceed supply for the next five to 10 years, we believe there is tremendous opportunity for growth,” he said.