Solar Cell

One of the hindrances of solar power adoption, especially in cities, is where to install the chunky panels. Roofs? Skyscraper walls? Scarce open spaces? Researchers say they have solved this with solar cells so thin they can be installed on windows!

“Impure” lead-halide perovskite cells riddled with “imperfections” offer superb energy-harvesting efficiency that could beat industry-standard silicon cells. Best of all, they’re simple, cheap to manufacture, and could change the world.

Solar panels can grossly detract from the look of many buildings and roofs. A new type of coating can add colors and intricate patterns to these panels, allowing them to blend in beautifully – without affecting efficiency by more than 5%.

Energy can never be created or destroyed. That's basic, unchangeable Physics 101. You just cannot create energy out of thin air. Yet researchers say they have developed a technology that pushes the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells to 130%!

High-efficiency, inexpensive LEDs and solar cells may arise from crystalline structures cheaper than silicon. A new vapor-based method works like superconductor manufacturing, creating perovskite layers at the Angstrom level for greater durability.

Since 2012, UK-based Power Roll has been working on a way to print low-cost solar film. It's now one crucial step closer to manufacturing its lightweight film, with a new design for its perovskite solar cells that should drop production costs.

Perovskite materials are poised to take on the reigning champion of solar, silicon, but their stability is holding them back. Now, scientists in China have developed a new type of hybrid perovskite that boasts a very good efficiency over a long life.

Glass might soon have some competition from an unlikely rival – bamboo. Scientists in China have turned regular old bamboo into a transparent material that’s also resistant to fire and water, and suppresses smoke.

Multirotor drones may one day be able recharge their batteries while out and about, instead of having to return to a charging station. They could do so via onboard ultra-thin solar cells, which have already been tested on a small quadcopter.

Solar cell efficiency may get a bump from bumps. New research suggests that building tiny domes into the surface of organic solar cells could boost their efficiency by up to two-thirds, while capturing light from a wider angle.

One of the most promising, emerging solar cell technologies has received a major efficiency boost. Engineers at UNIST in South Korea have created quantum dot solar cells with a world record efficiency of 18.1%.

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.