DTI grant aids plastic solar cell research

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has been awarded a grant from the UK Government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for plastic solar cell research and development.

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has been awarded a grant from the UK Government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for plastic solar cell research and development.

The grant will be used toward the development of efficient, commercially viable solar cells, also referred to as photovoltaic devices, and light detectors based on CDT's proprietary plastic semiconductor technology.

"Polymer-based solar cells have the potential to make a positive impact on addressing energy issues as well as paving the way for flexible solar cells to be used in applications where solar power has previously been too expensive or technically unfeasible, such as on disposable packaging, clothing, and in non-planar products", said Dr Karl Heeks, responsible for strategic technology assets at CDT.

"We are very gratified to have won this DTI grant because it recognises the market application potential of CDT's polymer photovoltaic technology, which we are committed to making commercially viable".

Polymer solar cells have a very similar device architecture to CDT's light emitting polymer (LEP) displays.

Whereas LEP displays emit light when an electrical charge is applied, CDT researchers have been able to reverse the process and generate electricity when light shines on a polymer-based cell.

Of strong commercial interest is the potential to develop inexpensive, flexible plastic solar cells that could be manufactured using low-cost roll-to-roll production.

Currently, most solar panels are silicon based, which makes them expensive to manufacture and limits their scalability to large area panels.

Plastic solar cell applications could ultimately range from rechargeable handheld electronic devices, wearable electronics technology, and large outdoor displays to secondary power sources for homes and factories.

CDT has recently demonstrated polymer-based solar cells that power digital clocks.

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