Molecular Solar Ltd, a commercial arm of the UK’s University of Warwick, has set a new record voltage for organic photovoltaic cells, a breakthrough the company says will lead to a new way of using solar power in modern electronics.
Organic photovoltaics (OPV) is an emerging technology showing great promise as organic solar cells are highly flexible, cheap to manufacture, non-toxic and recyclable. However, low efficiency rates compared to other technologies such as those used in thin-film PV modules and silicon-based solar panels have kept OPV on the bottom rung of the solar power ladder.
Molecular Solar’s recent advance came by accepting that current OPV technology cannot meet utility-scale energy requirements. Instead, the company decided to focus on designing organic solar cells with open-circuit voltages in excess of 4 volts, an output necessary to recharge lithium ion batteries. This achievement was a world first, according to Research Director, Dr Ross Hatton.
“We are now very close to having highly flexible organic photovoltaic cells that will be capable of delivering electrical energy at a voltage suitable for recharging lithium ion batteries that are widely used in portable consumer electronics. Remarkably, this high voltage is achieved using a cell with only 4 junctions (sub-cells)”.
The company says a combination of new light harvesting materials has allowed them to design a state-of-the-art OPV concentrator cell system that delivers many times the energy output of a standard inorganic thin film solar cell.
Chief Technology Officer, Tim Jones says, “The first generation of organic photovoltaics will be exceptionally well matched to consumer electronics applications. The advantage of Molecular Solar’s high voltage cells is that a single cell can be used with no requirement to connect multiple cells in series for these applications, saving manufacturing cost.”
Molecular Solar Ltd. was established by the University of Warwick to commercialise third generation solar cell technology.
