PHOTOVOLTAICS | MATERIALS
Organic solar cells – which rely on plastic
substrates – will become a critical green energy
source in future, as long as the problem of lower efficiency can be solved
Bright ideas: advances in solar cell technology
Solar cells are one of the key technologies for reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Those that are based on plastics – rather than silicon – may have lower efficiency, but their lower price may also help to make the technology more widespread. German solar energy company Heliatek
recently completed a project to install organic solar cells at the Port of Barcelona in Spain. It involves installing 584 of Heliatek’s solar films onto undulat- ing rooftops at three port facility buildings. Heliatek says this proves that unconventional building structures can become green electricity generators. The installation, completed in February 2023,
was part of the Life BIPV project. It will generate green electricity while reducing the port’s carbon footprint. “This project is not just beautiful – it’s a game-
changer,” said Guido van Tartwijk, CEO of Heliatek. “Our solar films have transformed three undulating rooftops into ultra-green electricity generators, seam- lessly integrating into the existing port landscape.
www.filmandsheet.com He said it was the company’s largest installation
of its kind on non-straight building shapes. The cells cover an area of 509 sq m and has a capacity of 29.5 kWp.
Solar recipe Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have found a ‘recipe’ to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells. The research was published in Nano Energy. “If solar panels covered half a percent of the land in the US, they alone could meet all our electricity needs,” said William Vandenberghe, associate professor of materials science and engineering at the university, and a corresponding author of the study. “The main roadblock to an expansion of the capacity of solar power is that solar panels remain too expensive.” Organic solar cells (OSCs) could reduce the cost
of solar panels because they are made with organic polymers and molecules instead of silicon, he says
April 2023 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 23
Main image: Research at Chemnitz University shows that ‘slow electrons’ reduce the efficiency of organic solar cells
IMAGE: UNIVERSITY OF CHEMNITZ
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