Great Britain. Making solar cells with a process similar to that of gun painting could significantly reduce the cost of these and make them available to people in developing countries.
"Spray coatings are currently used to apply paint to cars and in graphic printing. We have now shown that it can also be used to make solar cells using specially designed plastic semiconductors. Perhaps future surfaces on buildings and even car roofs will routinely generate electricity with these materials," said David Lidzey, a professor at the University of Sheffield.
"The goal is to reduce the amount of energy and money needed to make a solar cell. This means we need solar cell materials that have low embodied energy, but we also need manufacturing processes to be efficient, reliable and consume less energy," he added.
The researchers say plastic cells are unlikely to be stable, but if the cost of energy can be lowered considerably, they will become more effective than silicon during their life cycle.
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