Renewable energy generation that allows flexible solar power cells to be printed off and attached to places such as windows and smartphones is close to commercialisation, the CSIRO has said.
Work on printed solar cells has been under way since 2007 through the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium, which includes CSIRO, and Melbourne and Monash universities.
A printer at the CSIRO office in Clayton, Victoria, has been able to make prototypes of the solar cells in order to improve their efficiency.
The technology consists of a type of “solar ink” which is designed to capture sunlight and turn it into electricity. A fine layer of this ink is then deposited onto a material, such as plastic.
This allows for cells to be embedded into windows, effectively tinting them, to generate electricity. They can be printed in smaller sizes to be used to charge devices such as smartphones and laptops.
The CSIRO has had the solar cells on its Clayton roof for the past 18 months, with decent results. The printed cells are 10 times less efficient than standard solar panels, which are made of silicon, but scientists hope to improve that.
Fiona Scholes, the group leader of integrated systems and devices at CSIRO’s manufacturing flagship, said several companies, such as Dyesol, had expressed interest in helping commercialise the technology.
“We can’t manufacture them here, but we are at the point where they can be taken up by a manufacturer,” she told Guardian Australia.
“It would be wonderful if we could achieve a similar power delivery at significantly reduced cost. Silicon is falling in price, but think about how cheap plastic is. The ink is a negligible cost, so the raw materials are very cost effective.
“This is a big step forward because you can put these cells anywhere you can think of. Also the consistency is better than silicon – they work well in cloudy conditions.”
Funding for the project has been provided by the Victorian government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena). The federal government is attempting to abolish Arena.
“Whenever I tell people about this technology, the response is so positive,” said Scholes. “People love the idea. I think there would be a good demand for it.”