You may not know, solar batteries appeared 140 years ago!

Solar panels are one of mankind's greatest inventions and their history is more interesting than you might think.

Solar energy, one of the most popular and fastest growing renewable energy sources today, has undergone an incredible journey of development. From early experiments to technological breakthroughs, solar energy has proven its potential in meeting humanity's ever-increasing electricity needs.

The history of solar energy begins in 1884.

First steps and ambitious experiments

The history of solar energy dates back to 1884 , when Charles Fritts, a pioneering scientist, installed the first photovoltaic solar panel on a roof in New York City. Although it was less than 1% efficient in converting sunlight into electricity, Fritts' project marked a milestone in the history of solar technology. He used selenium coated with a thin layer of gold to produce an electric current that he described as "continuous, constant, and of considerable force." However, due to the high cost of the materials, the project did not go further and could not become a competitive commercial product.

Old-fashioned solar panels.

Twenty years later, Canadian inventor George Cove continued Fritts' work and developed a "solar generator" using a band-gap semiconductor material similar to silicon, the material primarily used in solar panels today. Cove made great strides in developing batteries to store and release energy, and attracted the interest of many investors when he demonstrated the technology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1909. However, Cove's story took a strange turn when he claimed to have been kidnapped and offered a large sum of money to quit his job. While this has never been verified, it quickly led to the downfall of Cove's career, and solar technology was forgotten for the next 40 years as coal and oil rose.

The first application of solar cells appeared in 1958.

Technological Breakthroughs and the Return of Solar Energy

While solar energy was being forgotten, other important technologies were developed that laid the foundation for its revival. In 1918, Jan Czochralski, a Polish chemist, accidentally discovered a method for growing monocrystalline cells , which would later become the backbone of 90% of today's electronic devices, including solar panels. This discovery was instrumental in the development of the silicon solar cell , which was made by scientists at Bell Labs in 1954. With a conversion efficiency of 6%, this was a huge step forward compared to previous experiments and marked a strong comeback for solar technology.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, solar energy began to be more widely applied.

The first application of solar cells came in 1958 with the launch of the Vanguard I satellite, which became the first solar-powered object in space. This demonstrated that solar technology had potential not only on Earth but also in space. From the 1960s to the 1980s, solar energy began to be more widely applied, especially in remote areas where power lines were not feasible or too expensive.

Modern developments and future potential of solar energy

In the 1980s, solar panels improved with the introduction of multi-junction cells, which increased the efficiency of collecting energy from the Sun. By 2006, researchers had achieved 46% efficiency with multi-junction cells, nearly double that of traditional silicon cells. Although these cells remain expensive, they have been widely used in aerospace applications such as the International Space Station.

With the advent of perovskite materials , solar cell technology continued to improve with outstanding efficiency. Bifacial solar panels, which can collect light from both sides, have also become popular in the past decade, especially in large-scale solar power plants.

With the advent of perovskite materials, solar cell technology continues to improve.

One of the biggest breakthroughs in modern solar technology is the ability to store energy. With the development of batteries such as lithium-ion, lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) , and other energy storage technologies, solar energy is becoming more and more feasible to provide a stable and reliable source of electricity even at night. This plays an important role in making solar energy a sustainable energy source, capable of meeting the growing demand for electricity.

From the early experiments of Charles Fritts to modern technological breakthroughs, solar energy has come a long way. Today, it is one of the cleanest, most economically viable and most promising energy sources in the world. As the world moves towards a carbon neutrality by 2050, solar energy will continue to play a vital role in ensuring a sustainable energy future.