Australian solar power company Dyesol recently successfully demonstrated their new solar panel which is based on a flexible metal substrate, and will suit a wide range of applications including powering cooling, communications and sensors, either as light weight mobile powerpacks, or integrated into field structures.
Project Director, Dr Gavin Tulloch, Chairman of Sustainable Technologies International (STI), said that the designs being developed in this project have wide application to supplying green energy both in remote areas and for powering portable electronic equipment.
Dye Solar Cells (DSC) technology can best be described as `artificial photosynthesis' using an electrolyte, a layer of titania (a pigment used in white paints and tooth paste) and ruthenium dye sandwiched between glass.
Light striking the dye excites electrons which are absorbed by the titania to become an electric current many times stronger than that found in natural photosynthesis in plants.
Thus it produces electricity more efficiently even in low light conditions and can be directly incorporated into buildings by replacing conventional glass panels rather than taking up roof or extra land area.
