Solar Cell

With the aim of allowing astronauts to live off the land as much as possible when they return to the Moon, NASA has awarded Blue Origin a US$35-million contract to develop the company's Blue Alchemist process to make solar cells out of lunar soil.

Perovskite is quickly gaining on silicon in the solar cell field, but it has one major drawback – durability. Now, a new treatment has been shown to keep perovskite solar cells working at 99% of their efficiency after 1,000 hours of use.

The dynamic duo of silicon and perovskite continue their rampage through the solar cell industry. Researchers at KAUST have developed a new silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell with a record-breaking efficiency.

Solar cells are good for the environment, but they have downsides. They’re expensive to make, and there are limited ways to recycle them. But researchers have developed a new manufacturing technique that may address both of these issues.

Solar farms and agriculture are competing for land. UCLA Scientists have now tested a way to combine the two by placing semi-transparent solar cells on the glass roofs of greenhouses, finding that they actually improve the growth of plants inside.

Perovskites are one of the most promising new materials for solar cell technology. Now engineers at the University of Rochester have developed a way to more than triple the material’s efficiency by adding a layer of reflective silver underneath it.

Solar panels can’t operate efficiently if they’re caked in dirt, but cleaning them regularly can be a time-consuming process. Engineers in Germany have now developed an ultra-thin coating that can make solar panels and other surfaces self-cleaning.

Perovskite and silicon are proving to be a formidable duo in the world of solar cells, and now they’ve hit a new record efficiency. A team at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have developed solar cells with an efficiency of over 32%.

Solar cells that are thin and flexible hold unique promise, as they could be applied to all kinds of irregular or otherwise unsuitable surfaces. Thinner than a human hair, a new lightweight solar cell continues to push the envelope in this space.

A new solar cell packs a record voltage and (arguably) a record efficiency for its kind. The tandem solar cell uses two layers of perovskite that tap into different wavelengths of light, plus a special surface treatment reduces wasted energy.

Engineers at EPFL have inserted carbon nanotubes into photosynthetic bacteria, greatly improving their electrical output. They even pass these nanotubes down to their offspring when they divide, through what the team calls “inherited nanobionics.”

Engineers at UIC have developed a device that can efficiently convert captured carbon dioxide into ethylene, a plastic precursor material. When run using renewable energy, the technique could make for net negative emissions in plastic production.