Friday 9 August 2024

New technology could revolutionise solar energy

Scientists at Oxford University Physics Department have developed a product which could generate solar energy without the need for solar panels.

The new power-generating material is thin and flexible enough to apply to any building or object and turn it into a solar-absorbing material.

Moreover, their technology generates more power than conventional solar panels, from the same amount of sunlight. It does so by stacking multiple light-absorbing layers into one solar cell.

Since 2010, the global average cost of solar electricity has fallen by almost 90 percent, making it almost a third cheaper than that generated from fossil fuels.

The researchers believe their approach will continue to reduce the cost of solar and also make it the most sustainable form of renewable energy.

Dr Shuaifeng Hu, Post Doctoral Fellow at Oxford University Physics, said: 'During just five years experimenting with our stacking or multi-junction approach we have raised power conversion efficiency from around 6 percent to over 27 percent, close to the limits of what single-layer photovoltaics can achieve today. We believe that, over time, this approach could enable the photovoltaic devices to achieve far greater efficiencies, exceeding 45 percent.'

Researchers believe that government incentives and funding is necessary for innovations such as this to turn to manufacturing