Jan 27 2011
The scientists at University of Texas at Austin and Konarka Technologies, pioneer in plastic solar cell production, have collaborated to develop enhanced plastic solar cell technologies. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are funding the partnership through their energy-associated grants.
The scientists at University of Texas at Austin said that their partnership with Konarka would enable them to address the vital requirements in the plastic solar cell market and to create the ideal model systems for attaining the objectives of both the Center for Chemical Innovation (CCI) and Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) programs.
The partnership will allow Konarka to obtain knowledge about the physical restrictions of efficiencies of the solar cell and about the vital limiting procedures in particular solar cell systems. The company recently attained a record-breaking plastic solar cell efficiency of 8.3% with its Power Plastic, a substance that transfers light energy into electrical energy.
Solar cells made of plastics are cheaper, flexible and lightweight and are manufactured in a large-scale printing procedure. Konarka's Power Plastic is utilized to produce solar panels for laptop casing, building windows and backpacks.