Nano-materials will increase solar panel efficiency by more than 50%

Solar energy technology has been continuously evolving to achieve higher energy efficiency. A new project of the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency shows that the nano-materials break sunlight down into different parts and allow solar cells to absorb a particular spectral color. According to research, this measure can improve the efficiency of solar panels by more than 50%.

With advances in light micro manipulation, scientists have succeeded in arranging light rays in color, capturing and guiding from one point to another, using extremely thin materials. It also incorporates a microscopic feature that is usually shorter than light waves. This new project hopes to create a precise architecture, but it is capable of large-scale industrial production of materials.

The problem faced by this technology is mainly the economic scale. Although it will take many years to produce such photovoltaic panels at a competitive price, if it can achieve the efficiency of theoretical propaganda, it is likely to set off a revolution in the optoelectronics industry.