Razor-thin solar panels could be 'ink-jetted' onto your backpack or phone for cheap clean energy

A coating 100 times thinner than a human hair could be “ink-jetted” onto your backpack, cell phone or car roof to harness the sun’s energy, new research shows, in a development that could reduce the world’s need for solar farms that take up huge swaths of land.

Scientists from Oxford University’s physics department have developed a micro-thin, light-absorbing material flexible enough to apply to the surface of almost any building or object — with the potential to generate up to nearly twice the amount of energy of current solar panels.

The technology comes at a critical time for the solar power boom as human-caused climate change is rapidly warming the planet, forcing the world to accelerate its transition to clean energy.

Here’s how it works: The solar coating is made of materials called perovskites, which are more efficient at absorbing the sun’s energy than the silicon-based panels widely used today. That because its light-absorbing layers can capture a wider range of light from the sun’s spectrum than traditional panels. And more light means more energy.

The Oxford scientists aren’t the only ones who have produced this type of coating, but theirs is notably efficient, capturing around 27% of the energy in sunlight. Today’s solar panels that use silicon cells, by comparison, typically covert up to 22% of sunlight into power.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/09/climate/solar-panel-inkjet-renewable-energy/index.html