A graduate student Anirudh Sharma from Flinders University has developed a technique which has the potential to be a game changer for the Solar PV Manufacturing Industry, which is currently facing a tough cost cutting crunch.
The pathbreaking method is an alternative to the current highly expensive and uber technical fabrication techniques. By using the technique developed by Anirudh- Solar modules can be made cheaply and also with a improved lead time. This Technique can be used to manufacture large-scale plastic solar cells utilizing a new lamination technology.
Sharma says that though researchers conducted studies on plastic solar cells in the past, the techniques which they utilized were highly expensive and it involved creation of a vacuum condition; which we know is highly expensive considering high volume manufacturing. The technique developed by Sharma is carried out by depositing materials on two different electrically conductive surfaces, followed by lamination. It gives better control over the material intermixing and thus can give more stable and better performing device rather than the old method of fabricating plastic solar cells in which - you have to deposit various materials sequentially on top of each other in a sandwich structure but over time the materials intermix, leading to device degradation.
Sharma's entire lamination process is roll-to-roll compatible, which basically means that the Solar PV modules can be just printed out using conventional printers which we use to print on paper.
Therefore the materials can be deposited by printing and devices can be fabricated by lamination at the same time, making the entire process scalable at relatively much lower costs making it way cheaper compared to older techniques.
Sharma says Plastic solar cells are really light and flexible also they can be used to coat a whole range of different surfaces including our very own day to day carry bags and rooftops.
