New Material Promises to Replace Solar Panels and Charge Everything

Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular and are considered the future of energy generation. But even they may have their days numbered. That’s because a group of researchers from the University of Oxford in England have developed a new technological material that can absorb light and convert it into a source of energy.

The material can be attached as an outer layer.

• Called a supercell, it is made primarily of perovskite, a rare mineral made up of calcium and titanium oxide.
• The material is thin and flexible and can be applied as an outer layer to objects or even buildings.
• According to the team in charge, the technology acts as a light collector, converting it into electrical energy.
• In the future, it could partially replace electric batteries and photovoltaic solar panels in electronic equipment.
• In practice, the new material will be able to provide power even to mobile phones, as it is used in device covers, as well as electric cars (with its installation on the roof of vehicles).

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Greater energy conversion efficiency

It is thinner than a semiconductor wafer, and more versatile than current panels, meaning it can be used in more situations. The secret to its efficiency lies in “stacking” a series of sheets of the same light-absorbing material into a single solar cell.

In this way, according to the scientists, it is possible to obtain greater energy efficiency compared to a conventional panel used in the same case. This material allows for an energy conversion efficiency of 27%, a value considered high for the sector and which could reach 45% over time, double that of current photovoltaic solar panels.

Despite the good results, the technology still has to spend a few years confined to laboratories to improve the components and make it cheaper as well. Only then will it be available to the general population.

However, to achieve this, researchers are still looking for industries willing to manufacture the component and government assistance until mass production of the material becomes possible. The information is from University of Oxford.