Bright hopes for solar tie-up

Published

05 June 2024

A new collaboration aimed at revolutionising the production and use of solar panels has got underway, with University of East London researchers joining forces with a Chinese solar technology company.

Dr Hasan Baig and his team at UEL’s Department of Engineering & Construction are working on a new type of solar panel with Jiangsu-based Cando Solar, with the aim of making “solar paper.” The hope is that the new panels will be highly flexible, meaning they can be used very widely while being more efficient and reliable than conventional solar panels.

Dr John Huang, CEO of Cando Solar, stressed his company’s commitment to the project and praised the efforts of the UEL researchers. He said,

A lot of work has been done by Dr Baig’s team and we are excited to have the opportunity to share our most advanced technologies with the university students. Our final aim is to integrate this innovative solar paper technology in as many places as possible, which would mean generating clean power wherever the sun is shining.”

Technological breakthroughs mean the new panels will also be able to store more energy from the sun while keeping costs low. Prototypes have already been shown to students studying under Dr Baig, allowing them to learn about the technology and ask questions.

Dr Baig welcomed the initiative and the opportunity to show the latest developments to his students. He said, “Cando Solar has developed a very interesting technology that will change the landscape of solar panels. It is my great pleasure to initiate this collaboration and work alongside Dr Huang to complete this project”.

The new solar panels will be made from completely flexible materials, which offer several significant benefits over traditional rigid panels. The technology will make finding locations for solar panels much simpler, as putting them in place could be as easy as peeling and placing a sticker on a surface. The solar panel stickers will also be lighter and more resistant to damage from impacts and harsh environmental conditions compared to conventional panels.

One key to the new design is doing away with busbars, the ribbons that connect solar cells to each other and allow for the flow of electrons. That zero-busbar approach will be used in conjunction with heterojunction technology, a type of solar cell architecture that combines crystalline silicon wafers with thin layers of amorphous silicon. This combination of materials is highly efficient, stable, and has superior electrical characteristics compared to conventional silicon solar cells.

The joint project between UEL and Cando Solar is now set for testing on a wide variety of surfaces including buildings and even cars. If successful, it promises major benefits, including high efficiency, reliability, and aesthetic appeal, meaning “solar paper” could appear on almost every outdoor surface you can imagine in the coming years.

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