RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A researcher at the South Dakota School of Mines is working to make nano solar cells more efficient and applicable to the commercial market.
Professor Phil Ahrenkiel’s goal is to place the solar cells in aluminum, one of the cheapest and most common metals, in order to make them less expensive, the Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/2hS1WKZ ) reported.
Ahrenkiel said the solar energy generated by the cells probably wouldn’t be enough to power a home. But he said there could be other uses, such as in military applications or portable power sources for backpackers.
He said aluminum would make the perfect material for flexible, durable, highly efficient nano solar cells in the commercial market and beyond. He said the solar cells could be coated on a roll of tinfoil, sewn into clothes or painted on cars.
Ahrenkiel expects to spend the next six months trying to figure out the aluminum problem. Implementing solar crystals into the aluminum has proven difficult, and will keep him busy.
“We’ll get by,” Ahrenkiel said.
The U.S. Department of Energy has funded Ahrenkiel’s work in photo voltaics with a set of grants. One of the grants for $179,000 is set to expire in the spring.
“It’s heartbreaking, to tell you the truth,” he said. “We have the potential to make some cutting-edge materials. We have the ideas. It’s finding the funding that’s the issue.”
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, https://www.rapidcityjournal.com
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