Low-cost, 90% efficient solar cells mostly made of plastic(eetimes.com)
eetimes.com
Low-cost, 90% efficient solar cells mostly made of plastic
http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223000119&cid=NL_eet
2 comments
For years we've been hearing about new, super-cheap and efficient solar cells, but if I want to put anything on my roof it's still going to cost me 30 grand and be made of silicon. I'm just waiting for this article: "Home Depot selling [insert cool tech here]"
Home Depot is probably waiting for "established tech with satisfied customers and reliable supply chain ready for large orders." Maybe this is one of those things that has to be funded by early adopters paying huge premiums to essentially be in the open beta. Never seems fair to them (which is why I'm not one, though I'd like to be).
One of the largest hurdles I see for this technology is raising enough investment capital to build a new fab, or recondition an old fab, for this custom integration of silicon and plastic. Currently Solar cell companies are able to leverage old processor fabs, but new technology such as this would need an entire new facility built, potentially at high initial investment and risk.