MIT Unveils First Solar Cells Printed On Paper

lucidkoan writes "MIT researchers recently unveiled the world's first thin-film solar cell printed on a sheet of paper. The panel was created using a process similar to that of an inkjet printer, producing semiconductor-coated paper imbued with carbon-based dyes that give the cells an efficiency of 1.5 to 2 percent. That's not incredibly efficient, but the convenience factor makes up for it. And in the future, researchers hope that the same process used in the paper solar cells could be used to print cells on metal foil or even plastic. If they're able to gear efficiencies up to scale, the development could revolutionize the production and installation of solar panels."

Lots of "ifs"

[gyrogeerloose]

It would be great if this turns into a workable process but it seems like someone publishes a similar article like every week and only rarely does it amount to anything.

Good

[Hal_Porter]

Time is running out for the House of Saud.

Once solar becomes ubiquitous they'll need to swap their imported cars for camels. And we won't have to worry about spoiled idiots funding Jihad as a hobby.

How long do they last?

[BlueParrot]

A common problem with many alternative solar cell technologies have been that they have not been durable or degraded on UV exposure.

Being able to produce cheaper solar cells will not gain you much in $/kWh terms if the cells degrade correspondingly quicker than silicon based ones.

Basically with photo-voltaics there seems to be: { Cheap, Efficient , Durable } , Pick 2.

I would not consider myself a nay-sayer. Indeed I think solar is a great energy source where sun is plentiful, but at the moment I just don't think photo-voltaics can even hold a candle to thermal designs. Like modern solar troughs.

Re:Lots of "ifs"

[anza]

99% of science isn't big jumps and revolutionary new ideas. It's incremental gains and slow but (usually) steady progress. Proof of concept of printing solar cells on paper is a pretty substantial deal, even if it isn't usable in the market yet.

Re:Good

[Hylandr]

Well if the world starts running on Solar energy, who is going to fuel demand for Saudi oil? ( Pardon the pun. )

However, the Sauds may choose to BUY that tech, bury it somewhere and go on about their business.

- Dan .

Nonfossil energy

[Paracelcus]

Biomass, big city sewage/animal waste in the country, and the nineteenth century's gift to the twenty first, the Stirling engine.
You could power city's and farms on the methane given off by crap.

Re:Good

[Maxo-Texas]

Oil is valuable for fertilizer, medicine, plastics, and many other purposes.

Have 260 billion gallons of it is valuable regardless of where it ends up.

Many alternative fuels seem to make sense at $90/bbl so they don't make sense right now- and they hold the price of oil down...

Which makes oil use continue.

Re:Good

[Anonymous Coward]

Well if the world starts running on Solar energy, who is going to fuel demand for Saudi oil? ( Pardon the pun. ).

The plastics industry, perhaps?

Re:Lots of "ifs"

[timeOday]

And that is manifest by the fact that solar power has dropped in price by about 1/3 [lbl.gov] (page 10) (pdf warning) in the decade from 1998 to 2008. So the idea that solar is "always coming and never arrives" is not true. It's getting more affordable all the time and the installed base is growing very rapidly (page 8).

Now if we can just eliminate the other 2/3 of the price solar energy will be free :)

During that same period, oil prices (also in inflation-adjusted dollars) went up by 500% [seekingalpha.com]. (Doubtless they have retreated during the recession; it's hilarious how quickly we all stop worrying about it as soon as prices fall at the pump. In a year gas will be sky-high again).