{"id":4347,"date":"2011-09-12T09:47:52","date_gmt":"2011-09-12T16:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=4347"},"modified":"2011-09-12T09:47:52","modified_gmt":"2011-09-12T16:47:52","slug":"power-spraying-takes-on-a-whole-new-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/power-spraying-takes-on-a-whole-new-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Spraying Takes on a Whole New Meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several news sources<\/a>, apparently using the same press release from Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., have announced a spray-on solar cell, which can be applied in the same fashion as paint \u2013 to \u201cbuildings, vehicles and even clothing.\u201d\u00a0 This \u201cmeans that the places where energy from the sun can be harvested are almost limitless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than one millimeter thick and capable of 10.1-percent efficiency, the new material is said to have a weight one-tenth\u00a0of traditional silicon cells.\u00a0 Mitsubishi says these are prototype materials, and that they hope to achieve 15-percent efficiency by 2015, with 20 percent as a more distant possibility.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Spray-on solar coating on unidentified substrate<\/p><\/div>\n

Mitsubishi is a bit soft on details, but says, \u201cThe new solar cells utilize carbon compounds which, when dried and solidified, act as semiconductors and generate electricity in reaction to being exposed to light. Most existing solar cell technology requires crystalline silicon to be sandwiched between glass sheets and positioned on the roofs of homes and office buildings, or in space-consuming \u2018solar parks.\u2019”<\/p>\n

Since the new material is said to be \u201cparticularly effective\u201d on round or curved structures, it could be applied to buildings and car exteriors, and\u00a0help to power either.<\/p>\n

The company says it \u201cplans to work with domestic carmakers to build a car coated with the new solar cells with the aim of giving the vehicle sufficient power to travel 10 kilometers after being exposed to sunlight for two hours.\u201d\u00a0 In your editor’s opinion, this might lead to a practical solar-powered commuter car, especially as such cells improve in efficiency.<\/p>\n

Researchers at Stanford University, under the direction of Dr. Yi Cui, have demonstrated printable batteries<\/a>, which work even on paper.\u00a0 According to Mitsubishi, \u201cScientists from The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization, the University of Melbourne and the University of Padua in Italy are collaborating on ‘printable laser’ technology which could impose nano-particles onto wafer-thin panels which could then eventually be developed into into paper-thin solar panels.\u201d\u00a0 Imagine these technologies combined into an energy generating and storage system.<\/p>\n

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has experimented<\/a> with spray-on nano-particle based solar coatings.<\/p>\n

Their thinness and low weight make the spray-on cells attractive for future aircraft, too.\u00a0 Their low efficiency notwithstanding, if the process can be kept cost-effective, the cells could cover large enough areas to allow some benefit in extending electric aircraft range.<\/p>\n