The new generation of solar cells is finer than a hair and lighter than air
The new generation of solar cells…fine than a hair and lighter than air
MIT engineers have developed Massachusetts Institute of Technology«solar cells from a lightweight fabric that can quickly and easily turn any surface into a source of energy.
The cells developed are durable and flexible, as these cells can be much thinner than a hair, and can be easily attached to a strong and lightweight fabric; Then it can be installed on any fixed surface to save energy, thus turning the solar panels into a piece of cloth. The research was published in the journal Small Methods.
Features of new solar cells
The new solar cells are easy to transport and use quickly in remote locations. To help in emergency situations. The new panels weigh “one-hundredth” the weight of traditional solar panels, generate “18 times” more energy per kilogram, and are made with semiconductive inks using printing processes that could be used on a large scale in the future; To manufacture large areas of these panels.
Being very thin and lightweight, these cellscells can be used on many different surfaces, for example they can be integrated into boat sails; To provide energy while at sea, attached to tents and shelters deployed in the wake of natural disasters to provide energy, or placed on the wings of drones to extend their flight range, these lightweight solar panels can also be easily integrated into a large number of environments and buildings with no need for large arrangements to install them.
المقاييس المستخدمة لتقييم تقنيات الخلايا الشمسية الجديدة تقتصر عادة على كفاءة تحويل الطاقة وتكلفتها لكل واط، أضف إلى ذلك السهولة التي يمكن بها تكييف التكنولوجيا الجديدة لاستخدامها في التطبيقات المختلفة، ويأتي هذا الابتكار بحلول واعدة لكلا المطلبين، وذلك في ضوء الحاجة الملحة الحالية للاعتماد على مصادر طاقة جديدة خالية من الكربون.
Ultra-thin solar cells
Traditional silicon solar cells are of fragile construction; So they must be encased in glass and packaged in a heavy, thick aluminum frame, limiting where and how they can be used. But six years ago, an Organic Electronics Laboratory team known as ONE LAB produced solar cells using materials so thin and lightweight that they could be placed on top of a soap bubble. But these ultra-thin cells were made using complex processes, which can be expensive and difficult to apply on a large scale.
But in this new innovation, they set out to develop thin-film cells that can be completely printed, using ink-based materials and scalable manufacturing techniques. To produce the new cells, nanomaterials in the form of printable electronic inks were used. Using a special printing method, an electrode is deposited on the structure to complete the solar module. The researchers can then separate the printed module, which is about 15 microns thick, from the plastic molding vessel. This is to obtain a lightweight solar cell.
But such thin, self-contained solar modules pose a challenge to handle as they can tear easily, making their use difficult. To solve this challenge, the MIT team searched for a lightweight, flexible, high-strength base onto which they could attach cells; Accordingly, a type of fabric (cloth) was chosen and viewed as the ideal solution, due to the high mechanical flexibility it provides and its light weight.
The chosen fabric weighs only 13 grams per square meter, and is known commercially as “Dyneema.” This fabric consists of very strong fibers that are used as ropes to lift extremely heavy objects. Although it may seem easier to print solar cells directly onto fabric, this will limit the choice of possible fabrics or other receptive surfaces that are chemically and thermally compatible with all the processing steps needed to make the cells.
Clear superiority of innovative cells over traditional cells
When they tested the new cells, the MIT researchers found that they could generate “730 watts” of power per kilogram when the cells were freestanding and about “370 watts” per kilogram if they were glued to a high-strength Dyneema fabric, which is about 18 times more power per kilogram than with traditional solar cells.
With regard to durability, they also tested the new cells and found that even after twisting and unfolding the solar panel glued to the fabric more than 500 times, the cells still retained more than 90 percent of their initial power generation capabilities.
While these cells are much lighter and more flexible compared to conventional cells, they need to be coated with another material to protect them from environmental conditions, as the interaction between the chemicals that make up the cells with the air may deteriorate their performance.
On the other hand, wrapping these cells with heavy glass, as is usual with traditional silicon solar cells, will reduce the value of the new technology, which is characterized by light weight and speed of movement, so the research team is currently developing ultra-thin packaging solutions that work to slightly increase the weight of the cells while protecting them completely.
