"Paper" solar batteries on the way - new developments

It seems to me that everyone who follows the developments in the field of alternative energy, expect the appearance of qualitatively new solar cells, which would not be as resource-intensive as the current models. Of course, a lot can be called a good solution for modern solar cells, but still this method of obtaining energy is very resource-intensive, plus the production of solar cells cannot be called an environmentally safe process. But scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed solar cells, which are equal in thickness to a regular sheet of paper. Yes, of course, “American scientists”, like “British scientists”, is a well-known and funny meme, but in this case the result is obvious. The fact is that scientists have already demonstrated a working prototype of such an element that could provide energy for a small LED display.

Scientists say that mass production of such solar cells will be possible in a few years. In the meantime, scientists continue to work on simplifying the process of production of new solar cells. According to the head of the research group, Professor Gleason, investments are needed to bring this product to the market. And the scope of such solar cells is very wide - from ordinary windows, which instead of a film from the sun can be stuck with such “paper”, to the covers of laptops, where solar panels will be very useful, helping to increase the battery life of the device.
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In addition, paper solar panels can be enclosed in a protective shell, a kind of laminate, and then they can be placed on the roof, and their installation will be available even to people very ignorant in the technique. The composition of a new type of solar cell coating has not yet been revealed - scientists only report that five different layers are used, which differ from each other, and all this is applied to paper. By the way, paper solar cells can be created at relatively low temperatures, which is impossible for standard solar cells. Scientists compare the process of coating the paper with the process of frost on the window glass.

So far, a significant disadvantage of paper solar panels over conventional ones is low efficiency - only 4% compared with 15% for commercial models. But there are also advantages - it is the use of organic materials, which reduces the cost of production, low-temperature production process, less harm to the environment and other advantages. It remains only to hope that we will not have to wait long for all this to appear on the market.

Via CNET