Window glass integrated solar battery

Soon, the windows of homes and office buildings will become efficient solar collectors and can compete with roof-mounted solar panels. This is the goal of the German company Heliatek, after they have successfully developed a thin, flexible film that can be coated on glass.

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The new photovoltaic cells are manufactured using a technology that uses organic molecules coated on polyester films. Compared with existing solar cell models, the new battery has the advantage of being flexible and lightweight, allowing it to achieve better power efficiency and potentially become a preferred choice among consumers. future. In particular, this type of battery has been proven to efficiently capture energy in both sunny and light sunlight - an advantage over current panels that generate electricity only on sunny days.

Heliatek, which is invested by Bosch Technology, BASF Building Materials and many other partners, has raised 28 million euros and hopes to add 60 million euros a 75-megawatt solar cell battery factory. Thibaud de Séguillon, chief executive of Heliatek, said that the electricity produced could be small and slightly more expensive than conventional photovoltaics, but in the next four to five years, when Heliatek began to produce the product on a regular basis. Large scale, the cost of the company's battery panels can be reduced by about 50% and it can compete with existing solar cells.

In the short term, Heliatek needs to find ways to sell its products to expand production. So they are working with manufacturers of building materials to integrate thin solar panels into building products, typically window glass. "It's like window-windows and only this window can generate electricity," explains Séguillon.

According to Technology Review, construction companies will be willing to pay a purse to buy integrated solar-powered lithium-ion batteries, because it's cheaper than using existing PV systems. For example, contractors do not need to buy any extra hardware to keep the panels on the roof. Moreover, the color of the glass integrated solar cells is the same as the conventional insulation should not affect the user.