While solar power is clean and green, the great drawback for it has always been cost: it is more expensive than coal or gas-generated electricity. But could that finally be about to change? Researchers at ANU certainly think so. They’ve invented a new kind of solar cell that will slash the cost of solar panels. People will chose to put solar on their rooves, they say, because the panels will provide cheaper electricity than power from the grid.
The new kind of solar cells are called sliver cells, and the reason they are so cheap to manufacture is because they use 90% less silicon than standard solar panels. One of Australia’s largest utility companies is so convinced of the technology’s potential they have bought the rights to it and have already built a pilot factory to produce the new solar panels.
Dr Graham Phillips: We all know that solar is clean and green and could solve so many of our energy problems. But there’s always been that one little snag: it’s more expensive to produce power that way than from fossil fuels. But is that all about to change thanks to an Australian innovation? Well the scientists here at ANU certainly think so and they’ve got industrial backers considering spending 100 million dollars developing their technology. It’s a new kind of solar cell.
Dr Vernie Everett: Yes it is. And we’re that close we can smell it.
Professor Andrew Blakers: We can clearly see a path to producing solar electricity for less than the cost of daytime retail electricityit’s going to be cheaper for a householder to install solar panels on their roof rather than buying more electricity from the grid.
Dr Vernie Everett: The world’s our oyster.
Narration: These are what the scientists are excited about – sliver solar cells. Each of these slivers is a complete solar cell - the smallest commercial cells in the world.
To see why they’ll make solar power cheaper, look at today’s solar panels. Each of those squares is a single solar cell, made from a whole wafer of 99.99999% pure silicon.
These are the pure wafers - and they’re expensive – about half the total cost of a complete solar panel.
But there’s actually a lot of wasted silicon in here, solar cells don’t need wafers this thick. The ANU researchers came up with a clever way of spreading the silicon further, and so dramatically reducing the cost of solar panels.
Slicing silicon wafers like this and turning them into individual solar cells was a challenging task. It involves many steps, laying down thin deposits of chemicals and selectively etching them away.
Dr Vernie Everett: I think in retrospect, if I had have known how much effort and time was involved I think I may not have been so enthusiastic.
Narration: Here are the wafers at various stages of the process. To cut them into slivers required inventing a special etching process.
Professor Andrew Blakers: This allows us to etch all the way through the silicon wafer selectively, only in those areas where we want the etching to take place in.
Narration: Chemically etching all the way through, along lines put on by a laser, was a brilliant way of making 1000s of extremely fine cuts, creating 1000s of sliver solar cells.
Dr Graham Phillips: So that’s the end of the process. So look at the slivers in that!
Professor Andrew Blakers: Yes you can see straight through the wafer.
Dr Graham Phillips: You can, I can see you through them!
They are incredibly fine. How many slivers would be in there?
Professor Andrew Blakers: There are 7 or 800 in there. And in a larger wafer with a finer pitch you might have a several thousand.
Dr Graham Phillips: Really! So you’ve essentially got 800 solar cells in here.
Professor Andrew Blakers: That’s right.
Dr Graham Phillips: Compared to one of these is normally a solar cell. That’s remarkable.
Narration: But how do you assemble all those fiddly slivers into a solar panel? In the lab it’s by hand, but the excitement of the project seems to get Vernie through the tedious work.
Dr Vernie Everett: I get into trouble because I don’t regard it as work. You know I come in here to have fun. And it’s been very rewarding.
Narration: Each sliver not only has to be glued in place, but has to be electrically connected to its neighbour, and then wires added to extract the electricity.
This solar bank has a 25 cells. It will produce the same power as standard solar, but using only a fraction of expensive pure silicon.
Dr Graham Phillips: Now sliver cells not only promise cheaper power, they’ll also allow new applications. For example, here is your conventional solar cell. Now if you try to bend that in any way it breaks. It’s extremely fragile. Where as the sliver cells, as you can see are highly flexible. Now that means you could build these into fabric for example. So put an array together like this nice and flexible that could be built into your shirt and you could charge your ipod, or mobile phone. It’d be permanently charged, no need to use the mains any more.
Another application is the slivers can be spaced apart and mounted on glass, creating a transparent solar cell.
Now these can be put into a building’s windows for example, to generate power.
Narration: Now, in case you’re thinking this is all pie in the sky, one of Australia’s largest utility companies has already built a pilot factory.
Tony Wood: Clearly were very excited by the potential of the technology. We’re now coming to the order of 40 million dollars Australian in the total infrastructure here. And we wouldn’t be doing that if we weren’t seeing that this technology really did have significant long-term potential.
Narration: The mass manufacture requires a very high tech facility, parts of the clean rooms are 100 million times cleaner than a normal lab.
And no hand assembly here. Instead a roomful of robots do the work.
And this is what completed sliver solar panels look like.
Another advantage they have is, if they’re partially shaded they still produce power. Unlike conventional panels which shut down with even with a little shade covering them.
The cost of solar is measured is the number of years of free electricity you need to pay off the installation. Today it’s about 20. With mass-produced sliver cells it could be just 5 to 7 years.
Tony Wood: We would expect to see commercial panels of the size that would be used in a domestic situation over the next 12 months or so. Now initially we’ll be putting them into the market in very carefully selected trials, to make sure the things work properly, that there’s no problems, but in the next few years you’ll certainly see these deployed in Australia and overseas.
Dr Vernie Everett: There is no single solution to energy supply problems of the world or greenhouse. But solar based on sliver technology can play a really important part.
- Reporter: Graham Phillips
- Producer: Graham Phillips
- Researcher: Anja Taylor
- Camera: Greg Nelson, Greg Ashman
- Sound: Dean Heneker, Tim Stevens
- Editor: Ben Eriksen, Chris Edwards
Comments for this story are closed. No new comments can be added.
09 Nov 2011 1:39:04pm-
Yes I can't wait to "chose" this for my "rooves"... quality
21 Aug 2011 4:10:54pm-
Recently I saw an item on television where the recharging of batteries for the Military was being discussed.Unfortunately my attention wasn't focused fully on the program until I realized they were talking about Sliver Cells by then it was too late to take it all in but it looks like things may be on the move.I hope so.
17 Feb 2011 10:04:27am-
Whats the latest on this technology. Are we likley to see it in production some time soon.
07 Apr 2011 4:40:53pm-
This technology is going to be manufactured in america, Boise, Idaho by http://www.transformsolar.com/
Not sure what origin did but I guess they sold it to them?
11 Sep 2010 6:28:16am-
Would be good to see ABC's 4 Corners to do a follow on this story. It appears like Origin is shelving this one for commercial purposes. That is diabolical if true and needs to be exposed.
08 Jun 2010 4:46:44pm-
How far off is this likely to be before we see it in production? I can see a house with sliver cells on windws on 3 sides and producing enough for 24 hours and putting some bvack into the grid. Or did big business kill this also?
17 Jul 2010 11:45:41am-
I've been keeping my eyes open for any updates for sliver too. Origin has joined with an American technology company called Micron to make sliver commercially available. The new company is called Transform Solar (http://www.transformsolar.com/index.php). XXXX [ABC MODERATOR EDITED] Hopefully we'll see it available for everyone soon!
Moderator: Please don't advertise or endorse commercial products or activities or solicit business on the message board.
16 Dec 2011 9:22:06am-
Regards moderators comment.
Absolutely the ABC should not allow advertising, however this is the only company licensed to product this technology, and people are still interested its production. So a bit of discretion might be warranted, hmm?
18 Nov 2009 12:53:46pm-
Looks like another "who killed the electric car" senario where a great idea is shelved for a company's financial gain. If this takes off it has enormous benefits for Planet Earth and Australia!
02 Dec 2009 5:56:13am-
Go to Origin Energy's website and they have a section devoted to it.
16 Nov 2009 12:57:45am-
Ok, we're nearing the end of 2009 and I've been as keen as mustard to hear the latest on this super Sliver Technology but all I'm hearing are crickets......NOTHING! Has anyone got any idea what's happening......what's the latest.....or are we to continue being kept on the dark?
13 Mar 2010 11:24:35pm-
MORE THAN ONE YEAR AGO I SPOKE TO A PERSON WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPEMENT OF THE SLIVER CELLS TECHNOLOGY AND WAS INFORMED THAT ORIGEN ENERGY WAS USING IT TO GET MORE FUNDS FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND THAT THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY NOT SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY FOR QUITE SOME TIME. I ALSO SPOKE TO A PERSON FROM ORIGEN ENERGY AND WAS ADVISED THAT THERE WAS AN OVERHEATING PROBLEM WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AND COULD NOT SAY WHEN IT WOULD BE ON THE MARKET.
13 Apr 2010 1:02:48pm-
So is the purpose of the program just to obtain funding from the government?
13 Aug 2009 10:51:09pm-
It is so sad and conniving to see this new technology sold to an existing energy company. In case you have not worked it out, Origin has eliminated the competition, so why would they progress with it at a rapid pace. They have their own original products to capitalize on first. Then, if we are lucky, we may see the new product. I wish that I am wrong. Only origin can do that.
31 Jul 2009 11:22:57am-
if you incorporated this technology into a sunshade on a car's windscreen you would never have a flat battery again.
19 May 2009 9:42:18pm-
I am suspicious that this sliver technology has been bought out by Origin and sat on to support the continuation of their current technology for a lot longer than is necessary. Hopefully the new polymer technology will get then off their butts!
17 Jun 2009 8:19:06pm-
Do the ANU and the ABC have any responsibility to keep up the pressure on Origin Energy to show progress?
19 Apr 2009 4:27:54pm-
The latest about sliver cell solar panels can be found at Origin Energy website. It looks like they own the research (?) and will be selling these panels when they come on the market. No definite time has been set for release of the panels. It seems to depend on when they can be competetively priced and mass produced.
They don't want volunteers for their trials, and are conducting their own internal trials.
Check the Origin Energy website for information.
27 Mar 2009 9:51:45pm-
I am very excited by this technology is it available? if not when is it expected?
27 Jun 2009 12:26:18pm-
have you had a resonse to your question about availablility?
27 Mar 2009 5:45:21pm-
Sliver system is a marvellous invention viewed on 08.03.07. It expected we would see quote: "commercial panels of the size that would be used in a domestic situation over the next 12 months." Now, 2 year later, can you tell me of its progress please and what the delay is attributed to?
24 Mar 2009 12:47:13pm-
Doesnâ€™t surprise me the technology was meant to be released back in 2007 and re-announced in the media again 2009 obviously people enjoy cashing in,.
30 Dec 2008 10:06:56pm-
Hi - looking to buy these panels and I am holding off till they become available - commercial application - motel
Anyone want me to be part of a trial
20 Dec 2008 6:37:03pm-
This subject was most interesting. They were supposed to be coming out commercially long ago, 2007. What is happening? Is there some technical difficulty, or is there some blocking of the process by multinationals who may feel threatened by the release of the sliver technology and resultant cheaper panels? This step foward is extremely important and should be made commercially available as soon as possible. Many of us are waiting for them.
14 Feb 2009 1:46:16pm-
Thats right Al, i have been following the progress for many years thinking to myself "its about to go" but alas the press releases are the same, the plant is up and running and hope to have panels out "this year"....not sure if we should be cynical, but most likely they are encountering difficulties "scaling up" production....I have also made enquiries on release dates and sales....all to no avail. But we live in hope !
09 Dec 2008 11:52:28am-
The technology is interesting but commercial development seems to have stalled, is there any projected date for large scale manufacturing of these panels ?. The potential flexibility of such panels is particularly interesting.
16 Oct 2008 8:49:32am-
I too would be very keen on an update to this story.
12 Oct 2008 11:08:53am-
Hi.I watched The original Sliver Cell program and would very much like to have an update.
28 Aug 2008 2:45:20pm-
Do you have a follow up on the 'Sliver Solar Panels' I remember the show and just found and read the article and thought wow, many thanx and look forward to seeing more some