Printing Plastic Solar Cells

Dr. Gang Li received his Ph.D. degree in Condensed Matter Physics from Iowa State University in 2003, focusing on organic light emitting devices. He joined Prof. Yang Yang's group in UCLA in 2004 as a postdoctoral researcher, where his research focuses on conjugated polymer based photovoltaic devices (solar cells) and has lead to high efficiency polymer solar cells (2005). He has published more than 30 refereed papers and given several invited presentations on his research on polymer solar cells. He joined SOLARMER ENERGY Inc. in June 2007 as Senior Research Fellow and is leading the research efforts in Solarmer.

Solarmer Energy Inc. is a developer of transparent, flexible plastic solar panels, the next wave in generating renewable energy from the sun. These solar panels are opening the door for a wide range of new application areas in renewable energy, which are not currently addressable with conventional silicon solar panel technology. Our company's solar panels have the potential to reduce the cost of renewable energy down to 12-15 cents/kWh and less than $1/Watt, which means plastic solar panels will be the first in solar capable of generating electricity on par with conventional fuel costs. Solarmer was founded in 2006 to commercialize this technology, which was developed by Professor Yang Yang at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. The company has licensed this technology from UCLA and additional technology developed by Professor Luping Yu at the University of Chicago. These plastic solar panels, made from very thin layers of plastics and other materials, convert solar energy into electricity in a very cost-effective way.