Solar Cell Façades
13 September 2006, 12:04
Categories: smt-energy-photovoltaic nanoparticles
Michael Grätzel, chemistry professor at the Ecoles Polytechniques Fédérales de Lausanne in Switzerland, is most famous for inventing a new type of solar cell that could cost much less than conventional photovoltaics. Now, 15 years after the first prototypes, what he calls the dye-sensitized cell (and everyone else calls the Grätzel cell) is in limited production by Konarka, a company based in Lowell, MA, and will soon be more widely available. Grätzel is now working on taking advantage of the ability of nanocrystals to dramatically increase the efficiency of solar cells. As the solar cells have glass on both sides, they could be used as a power-producing window or skylights or building facades. “The wall or window itself is photovoltaicly active,” says Grätzel.
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Posted by: The Editors
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