An exciting development has occurred in the fields of energy and sustainability. Swedish startup Epishine received a €3.3 million grant from the European Union to develop indoor solar panels. However, these panels aren’t ordinary solar panels; they are printable organic solar panels. Here are the details…
€3.3 million grant for printable organic solar panels
These panels are carbon-based and use organic molecules instead of silicon to conduct electricity. Organic solar cells are quite light, inexpensive, semi-transparent, flexible, and, most importantly, printable. These panels can convert indoor light into electricity. The light could be sunlight coming through a window or completely artificial light, such as from LED or halogen bulbs.
These panels degrade quickly outdoors, making them less suitable for outdoor use. However, they are ideal for small electronic devices or Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Epishine’s CEO Anders Kottenauer stated that the grant will accelerate their efforts to make self-sustaining electronic devices the standard. The company’s goal is to “leave disposable batteries and cables in the past.”
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Last week, Epishine, in collaboration with German telecommunications manufacturer Sentinum, developed a self-charging temperature and humidity sensor. The company also produced solar-powered electronic shelf labels and integrated circuits. Together with Chinese firm Nichicon, the company is even developing a self-charging battery powered by light.
Epishine’s co-founder Matthias Josephson said, “Epishine’s two strengths are the thin flexibility of our solar cells and high efficiency in very low light conditions.” In November, Epishine opened a new solar cell factory to meet increasing demand. This new facility can produce 100 million modules annually using roll-to-roll printing technology.
This system significantly speeds up production by printing solar cells onto very long plastic rolls. The goal of producing printable organic solar panels is to make small electronic devices and IoT applications energy-storable and sustainable. What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
