Solar encompasses endless possibilities
October 4th, 2019
“The building block is fabric, but there are a million possibilities to utilize solar,” says Pvilion founder and CEO Colin Touhey. Touhey gave an introductory presentation October 3 at Expo 2019 on cases for energy generation in fabric products. One of his first projects using solar cells in fabric was architectural in nature when he […]
Researchers improve production of thin, efficient solar cells
December 14th, 2016
Researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory are nearing thin, wearable electronics and other vital power applications. Photovoltaics, or solar cells, are a key component in next-generation power applications, but integrating them into Air Force systems has been difficult because the materials used to make the cells are typically thick, opaque, rigid and heavy. Attempts […]
Tiny solar cells turn power generation sideways
August 31st, 2016
University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have created high-performance, micro-scale solar cells that outshine comparable devices in key performance measures. The miniature solar panels could power a myriad of personal devices, such as wearable medical sensors, smart watches and even auto-focusing contact lenses, according to information provided by the university. Large, rooftop photovoltaic arrays generate electricity from […]
Presentation to illuminate perovskite photovoltaics
November 13th, 2015
The pros and cons of perovskite photovoltaics will be the subject of a presentation at the IDTechEx Show slated for Nov. 18-19 in Santa Clara, Calif. According to a press release from the tech research firm citing their report "The Rise of Perovskite Solar Cells 2015-2025," perovskite photovoltaics (PV) efficiency gains are double those of […]
Solar Shirt: the phone charger you wear
March 20th, 2015
Created in collaboration by the Dutch independent open-innovation R&D center, Holst Centre; the nonprofit, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO); and fashion designer Pauline van Dongen, the Solar Shirt brings the worlds of high tech and high-street fashion together. It combines solar panels and flexible electronics in an attractive, off-the-peg T-shirt with the […]
Printing large solar cells
July 30th, 2013
Scientists have produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia—10 times the size of previous materials—thanks to a new solar cell printer installed at Australian research institution CSIRO. The printer has allowed researchers from the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) to print organic photovoltaic cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper. […]