PopSci award winner: printed solar cells

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, December 5th, 2007 - 5 comments
Categories: climate change - Tags:

picture-29.jpgPopular Science has recently announced its “Grand Award Winner” in the “Green” category: PowerSheet solar cells.

‘Imagine a solar panel without the panel. Just a coating, thin as a layer of paint, that takes light and converts it to electricity…

“You’re talking about printing rolls of the stuff—printing it on the roofs of 18-wheeler trailers, printing it on garages, printing it wherever you want it,” says Dan Kammen, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. “It really is quite a big deal in terms of altering the way we think about solar and in inherently altering the economics of solar.”’

Read the full article.

5 comments on “PopSci award winner: printed solar cells ”

  1. Patrick 1

    I’m not sure when this sort of thing is going to make it to market, but it can’t be soon enough!

    If this is really going to be as cheap as it’s proponents claim then this technology could have a huge impact.

  2. Kent 2

    Bring on the revolution!! Buy an electric car tomorrow:
    http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php
    Paint it with photocells. Sweep back the rising tide of global warming.

  3. Sam Dixon 3

    This is seriously cool stuff. Flexible, cheap solar panels that can just be printed off and cut to order could revolutionise how we obtain energy for our economy – you could coat building walls and vehicles in them.

    I wonder how strong they are. there’s no mention of a protective surface but the companies ordering it obviously don’t seem concerned by that

  4. Phil 4

    I’ve always been a big fan of solar power, but something tells me it’s not a simple as “cut and paste”.

    That said, it’s a simple idea which could be one further step on the road to energy revolution that allows me to retain my gas-guzzling automotive dreams without guilt

  5. Draco TB 5

    Why would you want to keep your gas guzzlers?
    Electric cars are faster, smoother, quieter and just outright fucken cool.

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