Age
Tuesday 24/2/2009 Page: 6
IF YOU always thought there was big money in solar energy, you were closer to the truth than you might have imagined. Prototypes of a new generation of flexible solar cell have been produced using equipment built to print Australia's polymer bank notes. The breakthrough, conceived by the CSIRO, has the potential to enable mass production of solar sheeting at a far lower cost than traditional silicon-based cells. A trial of the technology was conducted successfully last week at the facilities of Securency International at Craigieburn, where the nation's currency is printed.
Securency International director of technical services Gary Power said: "It just so happens that the technology required to print solar cells is not a million miles away from the technology required to print polymer bank notes." The new generation of solar cells is still relatively inefficient at converting the sun's rays into usable power. A CSIRO project leader, Dr Gerry Wilson, put the figure at 3%. Normal photovoltaic solar cells grown on silicon are typically 25% efficient.
Dr Wilson was confident this would improve, citing a goal of 7% efficiency by next year. The chief benefit of the flexible sheets of solar cells was the ability to mass produce them, he said. Polymer sheets of solar cells could be placed on the roof of a domestic house or clad the walls of a commercial building to make them self-sustainable. The use of printing systems for polymer bank notes for solar cell technology is not as odd as it may sound. Both technologies emerged from CSIRO research and both involve using exotic forms of ink applied in layers.
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