Solar panels are constantly improving and breaking records. We often
hear about new exotic materials and strange shapes, but this could be
the weirdest announcement yet: Researchers at McMaster
University (coolest name ever) have succeeded in 'growing'
light-absorbing nanowires made of high-performance photovoltaic
materials on carbon-nanotube fabric. The nanowires are made from exotic
materials like gallium arsenide, indium gallium phosphide, etc, and
they can absorb more energy from the sun than silicon, allowing the
creation of both efficient and flexible solar panels .
The
aim is to produce flexible, affordable solar cells composed of Group
III-V nanowires that, within five years, will achieve a conversion efficiency of 20 percent. Longer term, he says, it's theoretically possible to achieve 40 percent efficiency,
given the superior ability of such materials to absorb energy from
sunlight and the light-trapping nature of nanowire structures. By
comparison, current thin-film technologies offer efficiencies of
between 6 and 9 percent.
Wow. Up to 40% for flexible panels!
But if it is known that the exotic materials used here are more
efficient than silicon at converting light into electricity, why aren't
they already used? Cost. That's the beauty of the nanowire approach;
Each nanowire is 10 to 100 nanometers wide and up to five microns long,
so very little pricey metal is used, keeping material costs down. Yet
because of their shape, they absorb light quite well.
The research team, led by Ray LaPierre, a professor in the
university's engineering physics department, has been given three years
to achieve its goals--backed by about $600,000 from the Ontario
government and private-sector research partner Cleanfield Energy, a
Toronto-area developer of wind and solar technologies.
Best of luck to them!
treehugger
