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CTRL+P: Printing A3 solar cells

Australian scientists have produced flexible, plastic solar cells that are ten times bigger that previously, thanks to a new solar cell printer.

The printer has allowed researchers from the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) – a collaboration between CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University and industry partners – to print organic photovoltaic cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper.

According to CSIRO materials scientist Dr Scott Watkins, printing cells on such a large scale opens up a huge range of possibilities , such as in advertising signage and street lights.

“We can even embed them into laptop cases to provide backup power for the machine inside", Dr Watkins said.

The new printer, worth AU$200,000, is a big step up for the VICOSC team. In just three years they have gone from making cells the size of a fingernail to 10cm square ones. With the new printer, they have now jumped to cells that are 30cm wide.

"Eventually we see these being laminated to windows that line skyscrapers”, Dr Watkins said.

“By printing directly to materials like steel, we'll also be able to embed cells onto roofing materials."

VICOSC project coordinator and University of Melbourne researcher Dr David Jones added that one of the great advantages is that they're using existing printing techniques, making it a very accessible technology.

"We're using the same techniques that you would use if you were screen printing an image on to a T-Shirt," he said.

Using semiconducting inks, the researchers print the cells straight onto paper-thin flexible plastic or steel. With the ability to print at speeds of up to ten metres per minute, this means they can produce one cell every two seconds.

The organic photovoltaic cells, which produce 10–50 watts of power per square metre, could even be used to improve the efficiency of more traditional silicon solar panels.

"The different types of cells capture light from different parts of the solar spectrum", Dr Watkins said.

“So rather than being competing technologies, they are actually very complementary”, he concluded.

The Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium is a research collaboration between CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, BlueScope Steel, Robert Bosch SEA, Innovia Films and Innovia Security. It is supported by the Victorian State Government and the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.