01-14-2016, 12:42 PM
Researchers at MIT (Cambridge, MA) have developed a transparent polymer film that can store solar energy during the day and release it later as heat, whenever it is needed. The material could be applied to many different surfaces, such as window glass or clothing. It could mean that clothing could, on demand, release sufficient heat to keep the wearer warm. The material could be used in a car windshield to store the sun's energy and then release it as a burst of heat to melt away a layer of ice.
Smart2.0 - New material stores solar energy
Silicon probably won’t be replaced as the dominant solar material anytime soon, but it might not be too long before it gets a partner from a promising class of materials called perovskites. A group led by Henry Snaith, a physicist at the University of Oxford and leading perovskite researcher, has demonstrated what it says is a viable pathway to a device that combines a conventional silicon cell with a perovskite cell to boost the efficiency of that silicon cell by several percentage points.
Promising Solar Material Could Upgrade Silicon Cells | MIT Technology Review
Scientists at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) and the USA's Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) claim to have jointly set a world record for converting non-concentrated sunlight into electricity using a dual-junction III-V/Si solar cell. The newly certified record conversion efficiency of 29.8 percent was set using a top cell made of gallium indium phosphide developed by NREL, and a bottom cell made of crystalline silicon developed by CSEM using silicon heterojunction technology. The two cells were made separately and then stacked by NREL.
Dual-junction solar cell claims world conversion efficiency record - Electronics Eetimes