Breakthrough Achieved in Self-Charging Electronics Using Stored Solar Power
GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have succeeded in producing electricity from stored solar energy, a breakthrough that could eventually lead to the development of self-charging phones and other electronics using solar energy on demand.
“This is a radically new way of generating electricity from solar energy,” said research leader Kasper Moth-Poulsen, a professor in the department of chemistry at the university.
“It means that we can use solar energy to produce electricity regardless of weather, time of day, season or geographical location. It is a closed system that can operate without causing carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.
The new technology is based on a previous Chalmer University program, the solar energy system MOST or Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems.
In layman’s terms, the system is based on a specially designed molecule that changes shape when it comes into contact with sunlight.
To carry out their experiments, the Swedish researchers sent their specially designed molecule, loaded with solar energy, to colleagues Tao Li and Zhiyu Hu at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in China, where the energy was released and converted into electricity.
Now that they’ve actually succeeded in producing electricity using a compact thermoelectric generator, the researchers believe it is possible to capture solar energy, store it for a period of up to 18 years, and then release it when and where it is needed.
“The generator is an ultra-thin chip that could be integrated into electronics such as headphones, smart watches and telephones. So far, we have only generated small amounts of electricity, but the new results show that the concept really works. It looks very promising,” says researcher Zhihang Wang from Chalmers University of Technology.
Their findings were published in Cell Reports Physical Science.
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