Solar Panels From An Inkjet Printer?

June 30, 2011

A new technological breakthrough could see high yield solar panels being produced on laser-jet printers.

Oregon State University researchers believe they have come up with a technology similar to that commonly used to print documents and photos.

They say that this new method is quicker and less expensive than traditional solar cell manufacturing techniques, which critics believe are too expensive. They say their breakthrough could also reduce raw material waste by 90%.

Finding a balance between costs of production and efficiency is the Holy Grail of solar energy research, and will be the key to future manufacture of solar cells. Many scientists around the world have been developing new materials and methods to do that, and this is the latest idea to show promise.

"This is very promising and could be an important new technology to add to the solar energy field," said Professor Chih-hung Chang, the lead author of the study, which appeared in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells journal.

"The best cells that we put on house roofs at the moment are conventional silicon cells and those have an efficiency from 20 to 25% routinely, but the manufacturing costs and materials costs are extremely high," said Dr Martyn McLachlan from Imperial College, London.

He thinks that, although it is less efficent, the cheap manufacturing costs of the inkjet approach means it is a "significant development".

"If efficiency and costs can be balanced, then lower efficiency cells become attractive," he said.