A new solar charging mat design initially to be used for military applications is slightly larger than a sheet of paper and weighs just 114 grams.
Alta Devices states the devices will be the world’s lightest flexible military charging mats offering the highest energy density.
Beyond their military applications, the design will be used in unmanned aerial vehicles, consumer electronics, cars and other industrial uses.
The mats feature cells with a very impressive 28.8% conversion efficiency and overall module efficiency of 24.1%. Alta’s cells have been independently certified by the USA’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) as holding the world-record for single-junction solar cell sunlight conversion efficiency.
To be available in 10W or 20W configurations, the cells used in the device are gallium arsenide (GaAs) based. GaAs cells were originally developed for use in satellite power systems in the 1980s.
The mats meet the demanding standards of MIL-810-G specifications relating to temperature, humidity, shock and other environmental stresses.
The 10W mat can produce up to 60 watt-hours a day assuming suitable solar resources. The company says the mat can generate between 2x and 4x more electricity per unit area and per unit weight than other competing technologies
A fully decked out soldier can be carrying over 45 kilograms and over a third of that weight can just be batteries. Alta Devices says its technology can reduce that battery weight by 70 percent.
“There are nearly limitless opportunities for always-available mobile power,” says Chris Norris, president and CEO of the company. “We are initially targeting applications where the need is well understood and the opportunity is substantial. Over time, we see huge markets being enabled by this kind of mobile power.”
Alta Devices was founded in 2008 by professors Harry Atwater from Cal Tech and Eli Yablonovitch from Berkeley University.
