The University of Ulm and researchers from the Eindhoven University have collaborated to create the first high-resolution 3D images of the inside of a polymer solar cell.

Important new insights have been given to researchers on the structure of the polymer cells at nanoscale, revealing the operational principles and the way structure affects their performance.

Polymer cells are not as efficient as those made of silicon, but their manufacturing could be very cost-effective as they can be printed in roll-to-roll processes at very high speed. These cells are also flexible and lightweight, so they can be used on clothing or vehicles and can be molded to fit the design of various objects.

Polymer and metal-oxide are mixed to create charges in hybrid polymer solar cells. When it’s illuminated by the Sun, a charge is created at the interface. The efficiency of the cell depends on the degree of mixing of the two materials. The researchers at Eindhoven have been able to target this issue, improving mixing to allow nearly 50% of the absorbed photons to be extracted as charges in an external circuit.

[via: ScienceDaily]

Solar roadways are not an entirely new idea, but it is a new concept for America's Department of Energy to consider.

Solar Roadways was given a $100,000 contract by DOE recently, to start work on the "first ever Solar Road panel." These 12×12-foot panels, in theory, could be embedded into roadways and they would soak up energy and send it straight to the gridways of the nation.

It is not out of the question that they could also host LEDs, which would alert drivers about upcoming accidents or bad road conditions.

Initially, according to estimates, each panel would cost $7,000, but if they were to be implemented along the entire US Interstate, use of non-renewable energy sources would be a thing of the past.

The problem is that the government is spending large amounts of money on paving old roadways, with plain asphalt, and wasting the desperately needed solar panel dollars…

[via: engadget]