Films capture energy from the sun

Production of organic solar cells, flexible in comparison to traditional photovoltaic panels, is beginning on a small-scale in Brazil

EVANILDO DA SILVEIRA | ED. 247 | SE

CSEM Brasil solar cells in film form

Each year, the earth absorbs the equivalent of 10,000 times the total energy consumed over the entire world, in the form of sunlight and heat. The problem lies in transforming all of this energy into electricity. The most efficient technology used today, employed since the 1980s, is the silicon photovoltaic cell, whose application is limited because of weight and lack of flexibility. Now the search is on for devices in the form of thin films—like organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells composed of carbon-based semiconductor material—that can be applied and tailored to a variety of surfaces, such as glass windowpanes. In Brazil, a number of research groups and companies are at work developing organic cells…