Solar power is one of the most reliable forms of renewable power — but it ’s still expensive . Now , a squad has develop a smart , adaptive material that could slash the its cost in half .
Developed by start - upGlint Photonics , the new material has optical properties that can convert to aid it beguile as much light as potential . presently , declamatory - scale solar plants have to habituate trailing technology to ensure that their cell maximise their exposure to sunlight ; this novel material changes its reflectivity in response to heating system from concentrated light to captivate light across a wide stove of angles .
The new technology is a sort of coating for use in a solar prison cell which focuses light into a piece of glass . An array of thin lens reduce sun across a liberal range of angles , before it ’s go along to a glass sail , coated on both sides with reflective coating . The front coating , however , is made of the new material , andTechnology Review explains how it work :
When a beam of saturated light from the array of lenses hits the material , it heat up part of it , causing that part to stop being reflective , which in turn allows light to enter the methamphetamine sheet . The material stay reflective everywhere else , helping to trap that Christ Within inside the glass — and the light bounce around until it reaches the flimsy border of the glass , where a small solar cell is mounted to bring forth electricity .
As the day wears on , the lenses discombobulate the light — appropriate across a broad range of incident angles , remember — onto a different post on the shabu flat solid , always allowing light in only where the shaft of light falls . In turn , it cut down the need to keep the gimmick luff directly at the sun . Glint Photonicsclaims that the engineering science could produce solar power at a cost of four cents per kilowatt - 60 minutes , compare to eight cents per kilowatt - hour for normal solar panel .
The engineering is still a validation of concept — its efficines still need to be upped , and the whole thing necessitate to be descale to exploit at commercial-grade bulk — but it ’s a very promising development . [ Technology Review ]
mental image byIntel Free Press
Energy
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