Photovoltaics

Polyera has achieved a certified world-record 9.1% efficient polymer/fullerene organic solar cell in an inverted bulk heterojunction architecture using its newest proprietary ActivInk® PV2000 semiconductor material.

Quantum dots could be used in a variety of ways ranging from illuminating the human body in high-tech medical imaging to increasing the efficiency of energy sources.

Amazon Kindle owners can now harness the power of the sun to illuminate and charge their e-readers, using the new SolarKindle Lighted Cover, which was unveiled at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

By packing molecules closer together, chemical engineers at Stanford have dramatically improved the electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors. The advance could herald flexible electronics, more efficient solar panels, and perhaps even better television screens.

A layer of gold nanodots on the surface of indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated glass may improve the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells, according to new research published in the journal, Gold Bulletin.

Tanaka Precious Metals begin supplying ruthenium dye compounds for dye-sensitised solar cells (DSC).

The T-Solar Group has signed three loan agreements for a total of $145m to finance two photovoltaic power plants with an aggregate capacity of 44 MW in Peru.

Imec is working together with Flamac, a division of SIM vzw (Strategic Initiative Materials; Zwijnaarde, Belgium) to develop novel semiconductor materials for solar cell applications.

A team of researchers at the University of Notre Dame has made a major advance toward this vision by creating an inexpensive "solar paint" that uses semiconducting nanoparticles to produce energy.

Konarka Technologies & Webasto collaborate for Organic Solar Application in automotive industry

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited with photons from the high energy region of the solar spectrum.

How small can a solar cell be and still be a powerhouse?

Passion, excellent know-how and close networking win the Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2011.

Imec, Polyera and Solvay set 8.3% efficiency record for organic solar cell with inverted device architecture

Imprinting electronic circuitry on backplanes that are both flexible and stretchable promises to revolutionize a number of industries and make "smart devices" nearly ubiquitous.

The three scientists succeeded in adapting organic semiconductors for use in a wide range of products, thereby creating the basis for innovative applications in displays, lighting, and photovoltaics.

A layer of gold nanodots on the surface of indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated glass may improve the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells, according to new research published in the journal, Gold Bulletin. The paper, written by an international team from France and Denmark, explains how a discontinuous film of gold nanodots just 0.5nm thick is sufficient to generate the performance improvement.

Heliatek GmbH, a global leader in high-end solar PV technology, has once again set a new world record for organic solar cells after Fraunhofer ISE CalLab certified a cell efficiency of 9.8 % for a 1.1 cm² tandem cell manufactured with a low temperature deposition process.

Researchers demonstrate future of computing with graphene, racetrack and carbon nanotube breakthroughs. Prototypes developed for first time in real-world manufacturing environments are critical step towards transferring research into commercial devices.

Opalux receives "Technical Development Material Award" at the 2011 Printed Electronics Conference for its Photonic Crystal Display Technology.

Major reduction in cost of process gases / panel, supported by the leading global gas suppliers.

TAU researchers adapt classic antennas to harness more power from the sun

Recently Organic Electronics team at NPL have achieved a significant breakthrough in the metrology of organic photovoltaics for solar power applications.

New record voltage for organic solar cells opens the tech to consumer electronics .

A new kind of screen pixel doubles as a solar cell and could boost the energy efficiency of cell phones and e-readers. The technology could also potentially be used in larger displays to make energy-harvesting billboards or decorative solar panels.

Key customers testing Tera-Barrier's prototype product have reported a doubling of lifetime of their devices under accelerated lifetime testing, allowing Tera-Barrier to move to the next stage of growth.

Sandia National Laboratories will begin researching how to use glitter-sized photovoltaic cells in utility-scale solar power systems, which eventually could cut the costs of solar panels in half and nearly double their efficiency.

Solar cell bonded to recently developed catalyst can harness the sun, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Graphene is considered a hot candidate for applications such as computers, displays, photovoltaics, and flexible electronics.

In a joint research effort with the existing partners at Holst Centre, technologies will be developed to enable patterned deposition of homogeneous film layers on flexible foils.

One of the largest solar power developers in the United States, NRG and the Washington Redskins celebrated FedExField's energy future with the help of former NFL quarterbacks and Redskins' fans during the "NRG Solar Bowl" Quarterback Challenge and an official "flipping of the switch" at halftime to inaugurate the new NRG solar power installation at FedExField.

The Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology presents solar panels, which are printed with special inks with electrical properties on standard paper.

Konarka Technologies has formed strategic alliances with Lapp Kabel, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Bischoff Glastechnik and the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy andEnergy System Technology.

Scientists from Singapore's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), an institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have created a new polymer with both high charge mobility and high power conversion efficiency for application in both plastic electronics and organic solar cells.

Imec and Solliance announced yesterday that imec will be a full partner of Solliance and will integrate its thin film PV R&D efforts in Solliance. With imec as a partner, Solliance aims to be an R&D cluster bringing thin film solar energy technology to excellence.

First Solar, Verve Energy, GE unit and GE Energy Financial Services announced that Australia's first utility-scale solar power project is under way. Output from the 10-megawatt AC project on 80 hectares of cleared land 50km southeast of Geraldton will contribute to offsetting the energy requirements of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant.

Solyndra, a maker of CIGS PV in a proprietary tubular format, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Director of the Fraunhofer IPMS is nominated for the Federal President's prize of Technology and Innovation.

Nano Gold Rush: Researchers use tiny gold particles to boost organic solar cell efficiency

Ascent Solar enters major strategic alliance with TFG Radiant Group of China.

Technical Analyst, Dr Harry Zervos reports on the FlexTech Alliance Quarterly Workshop.

Teknek has reported unprecedented demand for its Ultracleen cleaning roller since its launch in May.

Phone losing charge? Technology created by UCLA engineers allows LCDs to recycle energy.

Secretary Salazar approves 550 megawatt solar project in Riverside County, California

Australia's world-leading solar researchers and industry have partnered to develop new ways of generating zero-emissions electricity using a printing machine to produce solar cells.

A significant milestone has been achieved by First Solar, who have set a new world record for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) solar cell efficiency, reaching 17.3 percent with a test cell constructed using commercial-scale manufacturing equipment and materials.

DuPont today announced last week that it has acquired Innovalight, Inc., a company specializing in advanced silicon inks and process technologies that increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells.

German specialty chemicals producer Merck is embarking on a partnership with Nano-C, a developer of nano-structured carbon, for use in energy and electronics applications.

Solvay commits EUR 10 MLN to support Plextronics' innovative technology development in organic light emitting diodes and photovoltaics.

New MIT-developed materials make it possible to produce photovoltaic cells on paper or fabric, nearly as simply as printing a document.