{"id":5085,"date":"2011-08-05T13:57:09","date_gmt":"2011-08-05T17:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/?p=5085"},"modified":"2017-09-05T17:46:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T21:46:51","slug":"solar-power-on-flexible-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/solar-power-on-flexible-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Power on Flexible Plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo: New Energy<\/figcaption><\/figure>Researchers at New Energy Technologies, whose trademark SolarWindow technology<\/a> is capable of generating electricity on see-through glass, said this week they have managed to generate electricity on flexible plastic using the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spray-on coating methods. The company said this new technology is an important step towards the development of electricity-generating window films.<\/p>\n

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The researchers sprayed New Energy<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s electricity-generating coatings onto flexible, lightweight lab-scale plastic (polyethylene terephthalate or “PET”) at room temperature and at low pressure, which they say could reduce manufacturing costs. They managed to overcome \u00e2\u20ac\u0153conventional issues with surface preparation\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when preparing the PET prototype, which is crucial in order to achieve maximum strength of the coatings\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 bond to the surface and for more durability and longevity.<\/p>\n

Besides, researchers were able to maintain the working ‘architecture’ of New Energy’s SolarWindow while achieving flexibility. The SolarWindow architecture enables important functions such as generating solar electricity<\/a> on the surface of plastic and distributing electricity to the circuit. <\/p>\n

And how would this translate into a commercial product? New Energy scientists envisage a see-through tinted window film. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly a new idea, but it has been stymied in the past by difficulties such as temperature-specific and pressure sensitive methods (which were also expensive and cumbersome) for applying coating to plastic surfaces. The company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flexible plastic overcomes such obstacles, they say.<\/p>\n

With an estimated 85 million commercial buildings and homes in the U.S., New Energy believes there is huge potential for its SolarWindow technology, which is the subject of ten new patent filings.<\/p>\n

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