The flexible printed cells could be used on roofs, windows, cars and even clothing.
New technology at the University of Melbourne is paving the way for “printable lightweight, flexible solar cells”, reported 
, and has been developed by Laureate Professor Andrew Holmes AM and advanced by the research group leader Dr David Jones. The development of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) now features “light-harvesting material with unusual crystallisation, which aligns its molecules to improve performance”, and OPVs can be mass-produced at low cost by printing them on plastic sheets using standard commercial printers.
Jones said that “quite often flexible, lightweight solar arrays are appealing to retro fit roofs where silicon cells would be too heavy. They could also work really well as transportable power sources on awnings, shade cloths or umbrellas”. Using window glass to generate solar power for energy production is something the researchers are looking into, and Dr. Wallace Wong added that “instead of converting light into energy directly like a solar cell, the dye inside the window absorbs the light which can be then channelled to the edges where the solar cells are.
“That is a much easier way of generating energy from transparent surfaces”. There are many uses for OPVs “like covering surfaces of lakes or other large expanses to water to help prevent evaporation while simultaneously generating energy”, or using them as “temporary covers on grain silos in central Australia, to prevent overheating while powering the fans that stop the grain from sweating”.
OPVs “are at the forefront of solar power research, thanks to their promise of cheap production and, ultimately, efficient power generation”, the article added, and Jones’ team have been working with new chemicals that “can be dropped into the printing programme to make it more efficient. They are derived from simple commercial chemicals, and have yielded great results in the lab”, added Jones.
The printers are an important part of the research, he explained, noting that “the printers we use are commercially available – they are the same as those used for screen printing. We just use a slightly different printing head”. Once the team have scaled the printing process “to prove its commercial viability”, it will be ready for marketing, and this should be in a couple of years, according to Jones.
He concluded: “Ultimately this technology will get to a stage where it can directly compete with traditional silicon cells. In the meantime, we have a solar panel that can be printed on a standard commercial printer, and then rolled up and taken with you. And how great is that.”