[Hope] Technology to produce solar cell from wood pulp is developed, “Manufacturing cost is 1/100,000”

Associate professor Nogi from Osaka university developed the technology to produce solar cell from wood pulp with his developing team.
The manufacturing cost is 1/100,000 of the one with glass substrates, 1/500 ~ 5,000 of the one with plastic.
It’s wired by pressure instead of heating, which takes less energy to lessen the environmental burden.
The conversion efficiency is 3%, which is less than the ordinary solar power generation panel attached on the roofs, (10~20%) but the same level as the one with glass substrates.
It’s less than 1mm thick, and it’s foldable.

 

http://matometanews.com/archives/1604919.html

 

Related article..[Hope] New technology to charge your phone with your hot coffee or cold beer [URL]

 

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Français :

[Espoir] On a trouvé une technique pour faire des capteurs solaires à partir de pulpe de bois : “la fabrication coûte 100 000 fois moins cher”

M. Nogi, professeur associé de l’Université d’Osaka, et son équipe ont développé une technique pour produire des cellules de capteurs solaires à partir de pulpe de bois.
La fabrication coûte le 100 000e de ceux en verre et 500 à 5 000 fois moins que ceux en plastique.
C’est lié par pression au lieu de chaleur, ce qui demande moins d’énergie et diminue le coût sur l’environnement. L’efficacité de la  conversion est de 3%, ce qui est inférieur aux capteurs solaires habituellement fixés sur les toits  (de 10 à 20 %) mais c’est égal aux capteurs en verre.
Ils font moins de 1 mm d’épaisseur et sont pliables.

Source : http://matometanews.com/archives/1604919.html

Article lié : [Espoir] Une nouvelle technologie pour charger votre téléphone avec votre café chaud ou votre bière glacée

  1. What are the odds that the big multinational corporations will suppress this? After all they’ve pretty effectively stopped technological advances regarding energy production for the past 100 years or so.

  2. Thanks, very interesting. Its low yield, especially in times of rapid increase in solar energy yields is a handicap but hopefully it will be improved over time. It’s promising in any case.

    @Greyhawk: Germany is already producing 50% of its energy at noon from solar and has (even under the conservative government) invested heavily on the development of renewables (while reneging on nuclear), becoming a major exporter of electricty and threatening to displace France from that position (France relies heavily on nuclear power, being the most nuclearized state on Earth – this may also explain its interests in Libya and Mali, both bordering Niger, which is its main source of uranium).

    Another country recently “converted” to solar energy is Cuba, although I’m less knowledgeable of its progress. Meanwhile Nicaragua is betting for micro-hydroelectric power plants, another sustainable source of energy if well managed.

    On the negative side, Spain, that had very promising projects until just a year ago or so, recently cut all subsidies to solar energy, causing major unstability in the sector.

    Of course Big Oil and Big Nuclear are very actively opposed to this development but even for them it is hard to negate the reality of their sources of energy being less and less efficient. Oil, even if we discount pollution as an externality, is not really anymore competitive vs renewables, nuclear is obviously too costly in terms of risks (which bear terrible economic consequences beyond the human tragedy) and residue management.

    So IMO the trend is solar and other renewables. It’s a bit hard to get them going mainstream but the path is set and I’m almost certain that they are a good bet/investment from many different viewpoints.

    The main issue with nuclear power is that it is “necessary” for the military. That is what mostly supports nuclear madness: the horrific destruction power that it provides.

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About this site

This website updates the latest news about the Fukushima nuclear plant and also archives the past news from 2011. Because it's always updated and added live, articles, categories and the tags are not necessarily fitted in the latest format.
I am the writer of this website. About page remains in 2014. This is because my memory about 311 was clearer than now, 2023, and I think it can have a historical value. Now I'm living in Romania with 3 cats as an independent data scientist.
Actually, nothing has progressed in the plant since 2011. We still don't even know what is going on inside. They must keep cooling the crippled reactors by water, but additionally groundwater keeps flowing into the reactor buildings from the broken parts. This is why highly contaminated water is always produced more than it can circulate. Tepco is planning to officially discharge this water to the Pacific but Tritium is still remaining in it. They dilute this with seawater so that it is legally safe, but scientifically the same amount of radioactive tritium is contained. They say it is safe to discharge, but none of them have drunk it.

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