Pillar to Post: Peter Welander's Blog 
Recent Posts
- Emerson: Watching the ceremony
- Your own home fuel cell plant
- Death of the typewriter (man)
- Living: How green is green enough?
- ISA Expo: Show must go on
- Re-branding a legacy
- Back to the "smart grid"
- Learning to live with change
- Back to $100 oil?
- Economics of not driving to work
Recent Comments
- Sandor Fule, Hungary on I am not a socialist
- Sandor Fule, Hungary on Economics of not driving to work
- Nico on Making gasoline out of coal
- Mark Hoske, Control Engineering on Learning to live with change
- Nancy McIntyre on ExxonMobil helping plug skills gap
Most Commented On
- I am not a socialist (3)
- Chinese pharma plants go un-inspected? (2)
- Making gasoline out of coal (2)
- Economics of not driving to work (1)
- Learning to live with change (1)
Archives
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
Blog
Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)
Photovoltaics gain efficiency boost
It may have slipped by most people, but the announcement from Northwestern University had scientific breakthrough written all over it. Two NU professors, Tobin J. Marks and Robert Chang, have found a way to increase the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells by 40% and they believe that is only the beginning.
While photovoltaic cells are nothing new, the organic variety holds the promise to be much cheaper than more conventional silicon varieties. Moreover they can be made on flexible substrates. The problem so far is that they have been very low on the solar energy efficiency scale. This is a major advance.
Solar energy is particularly useful in the alternative tool box. The technology creates the most energy when it is most needed, which is a major advantage. It can also be deployed where there are few other uses for the ground, such as a desert. But only if it can have a high enough cost to efficiency ratio. It looks like we just took a turn for the better.
Photovoltaics gain efficiency boost
March 4, 2008
It may have slipped by most people, but the announcement from Northwestern University had scientific breakthrough written all over it. Two NU professors, Tobin J. Marks and Robert Chang, have found a way to increase the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells by 40% and they believe that is only the beginning.While photovoltaic cells are nothing new, the organic variety holds the promise to be much cheaper than more conventional silicon varieties. Moreover they can be made on flexible substrates. The problem so far is that they have been very low on the solar energy efficiency scale. This is a major advance.
Solar energy is particularly useful in the alternative tool box. The technology creates the most energy when it is most needed, which is a major advantage. It can also be deployed where there are few other uses for the ground, such as a desert. But only if it can have a high enough cost to efficiency ratio. It looks like we just took a turn for the better.
Posted by Peter Welander on March 4, 2008 | Comments (0)
Industries: Process Control
Advertisement
Advertisements
