Spray on solar power technology from Mitsubishi could transform everything from buildings, cars and clothing into energy-generating surfaces. Thin solar cells – less than 1 millimeter thick, and which weigh 1/10th of similarly sized crystalline solar panels – are the latest in building integrated photovoltaics.
The Japanese-based company has been part of a clean tech revolution starting in March 2011 after the devastating tsunami and resulting nuclear power plant meltdowns. Government has backed research and development of solar power and other green energy sources.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp has developed spray-on solar power technology with solar cells that use carbon compounds that operate semiconductors when dried and solidified, which means they can generating electricity when exposed to UV light. Thin film solar, like this spray on solar technology can save space and cut down on weight normally associated with conventional solar panels.
Mitsubishi Chemical’s spray-on power technology promise a potential light-to-electricity conversion rate of over 10%. Traditional crystalline silicon solar panels provide an efficiency of as much as 20%, but – as noted above – less space and less weight of the spray on solar cells gives the technology an advantage. Moreover, Mitsubishi hopes to improve efficiency to 15% by 2015.