In what could be a breakthrough in sustainable energy production, scientists have used a solar cell printer to produce large flexible solar cells made out of plastic.
The printer has allowed Australian researchers from the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) – a collaboration between CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University and industry partners – to print organic photovoltaic cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper.
According to CSIRO materials scientist Dr Scott Watkins, printing cells on such a large scale opens up a huge range of possibilities for pilot applications.
“There are so many things we can do with cells this size,” he says. “We can set them into advertising signage, powering lights and other interactive elements. We can even embed them into laptop cases to provide backup power for the machine inside.”
The new printer, worth $200 000, is a big step up for the VICOSC team. In just three years they have gone from making cells the size of a fingernail to cells 10cm square. Now, with the new printer, they have jumped to cells that are 30cm wide.
VICOSC project co-ordinator and University of Melbourne researcher, Dr David Jones, says that one of the great advantages of the group’s approach is that they’re using existing printing techniques, making it a very accessible technology.
“We’re using the same techniques that you would use if you were screen printing an image on to a T-shirt,” he says.
Using semiconducting inks, the researchers print the cells straight onto paper-thin flexible plastic or steel. With the ability to print at speeds of up to 10 metres per minute, this means they can produce one cell every two seconds.
“Eventually we see these being laminated to windows that line skyscrapers. By printing directly to materials like steel, we’ll also be able to embed cells onto roofing materials,” Dr Jones says.
The organic photovoltaic cells, which produce 10 to 50 watts of power per square metre, could even be used to improve the efficiency of more traditional silicon solar panels.
“The different types of cells capture light from different parts of the solar spectrum. So rather than being competing technologies, they are actually very complementary,” Dr Watkins says.
The printer has allowed Australian researchers from the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) – a collaboration between CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University and industry partners – to print organic photovoltaic cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper.
According to CSIRO materials scientist Dr Scott Watkins, printing cells on such a large scale opens up a huge range of possibilities for pilot applications.
“There are so many things we can do with cells this size,” he says. “We can set them into advertising signage, powering lights and other interactive elements. We can even embed them into laptop cases to provide backup power for the machine inside.”
The new printer, worth $200 000, is a big step up for the VICOSC team. In just three years they have gone from making cells the size of a fingernail to cells 10cm square. Now, with the new printer, they have jumped to cells that are 30cm wide.
VICOSC project co-ordinator and University of Melbourne researcher, Dr David Jones, says that one of the great advantages of the group’s approach is that they’re using existing printing techniques, making it a very accessible technology.
“We’re using the same techniques that you would use if you were screen printing an image on to a T-shirt,” he says.
Using semiconducting inks, the researchers print the cells straight onto paper-thin flexible plastic or steel. With the ability to print at speeds of up to 10 metres per minute, this means they can produce one cell every two seconds.
“Eventually we see these being laminated to windows that line skyscrapers. By printing directly to materials like steel, we’ll also be able to embed cells onto roofing materials,” Dr Jones says.
The organic photovoltaic cells, which produce 10 to 50 watts of power per square metre, could even be used to improve the efficiency of more traditional silicon solar panels.
“The different types of cells capture light from different parts of the solar spectrum. So rather than being competing technologies, they are actually very complementary,” Dr Watkins says.
Pictured is the CSIRO’s Dr Scott Watkins with a printed solar panel.