Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has received EUR 4.25 million (USD 5.22 million) in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to initiate a four-year research project on printable organic solar cells (OPV).
Printed OPV cell on plastic substrate
The project aims to enhance the efficiency of organic solar cells to more than 10%. The study is being led by Dr. Alexander Colsmann at the Light Technology Institute (LTI).
Plastic solar cells to be applied to surfaces of nearly any shape
The new generation of solar cells is light, flexible, semi-transparent, and allows for a low-cost production. Organic solar cells (plastic solar cells) can be applied to surfaces of nearly any shape by state-of-the-art printing and coating processes.
The project is supported by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP), Potsdam, and the University of Queensland/Australia.