The Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium has been working on printable solar cells since 2007. The team has developed processes that use spray coating, reverse gravure and slot-dye coating, as well as screen printing. Using semiconducting inks, the researchers print solar cells straight onto paper-thin, flexible PET – the same plastic found in water and soda bottles. The cells can also be printed onto steel, or they can be made semi-transparent for window treatments and building cladding. Initial results produced coin-sized cells, but this rapidly progressed to A3-sized sheets. Printing speeds can currently hit ten meters per minute, producing one cell every two seconds.

Related: Australia’s Largest Solar Cell Printer Can Spit Out a Photovoltaic Panel Every Two Seconds

So far the technology’s main downside is that the cells currently work at only 10 percent of the efficiency of silicon cells. However, the team is expecting to close the efficiency gap soon by improving solar inks so they can generate more electricity. The initial lifespan of the printed solar cells was only six months, but the team is working on improving this to 10 years.

Of the difference between printed solar cells and silicon cells the CSIRO’s Fiona Scholes said, “It would be wonderful if we could achieve a similar power delivery at significantly reduced cost. Silicon is falling in price, but think about how cheap plastic is. The ink is a negligible cost, so the raw materials are very cost effective. This is a big step forward because you can put these cells anywhere you can think of. Also the consistency is better than silicon – they work well in cloudy conditions.”


Read more: Printable Solar Cells Almost Market Ready Says Australian Research Team | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building


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