University of Newcastle’s Professor Paul Dastoor’s solar paint technology could turn every residential rooftop into a solar power station – at a fraction of the cost of conventional solar panels.
Professor Dastoor is an Associate Professor in Physics in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences and director of the Centre for Organic Electronics at the University, based in Newcastle, NSW.
After years of research and development, Professor Dastoor is close to completing a commercial-scale solar production process that allows for polymer solar cells to be printed and eventually perhaps even painted onto surfaces.
It’s been a long journey for the Professor.
“I had read papers about semiconducting polymers and thought, naïvely, ‘How hard can it be to build a polymer solar cell? The answer: bloody difficult!’
Dastoor developed a method of suspending polymer based semiconductor particles in water, which led to the concept of producing a solar paint or ink. The first prototype systems he developed allowed for a very small solar cell to be produced with a common inkjet printer.
Professor Dastoor and his team are now perfecting systems at a printing facility large enough to coat solar paint onto hundreds of metres of plastic sheeting.
“Our research indicates that a roll of this sheeting on a typical-sized roof of about 150 square metres will provide enough electricity for an average household. However, the installation cost could be approximately one-tenth of installing a silicon solar system that produces the same amount of electricity.”
Professor Dastoor believes it will be possible at some point to paint the conductive liquid directly onto a surface, or use it as a window tint.
Construction of the facility has been funded by a $1 million grant from the Australian National Fabrication Facility and is expected to commence commercial operations this year according to an article on the Newcastle Herald.
