A team of researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia has created special solar panels that are flexible, very thin and easy to apply
Solar panels are an ever-evolving technology and now thanks to 3D printing and solar ink their price will decrease dramatically. This development will allow the mass use of this technology and its application in more fields than at present.
This new 3D printing system allows making very thin solar panels that can be applied in various ways on prefabricated supports. Experts are calling it a pioneering discovery. Discovery that was made by a group of researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia. In addition to the dimensions, which are very thin and allow an easy application and a ductility never seen before, to surprise is the solar ink used inside the panels that serves as a conductor for energy. This particular ink is applied to the panels directly at the 3D printing stage.
How is it made?
The material used is plastic and allows the panel to be extremely flexible but also durable. As mentioned the discovery can revolutionize the use of solar panels: in addition to costing little with this system you can collect a large amount of solar panels in coils to be unrolled when you will have to mount the photovoltaic panels. Speaking of costs, at the moment these special solar panels made with the technique of 3D printing have a price of just under 10 euros per square meter. In practice, in the very near future it will be enough to buy such systems to use alternative energy sources in our homes. The technology has entered its final testing phase in Australia and should soon be presented to the general public and then launched on the market. The goal of the developers is to create a system capable of bringing energy to the most remote places on Earth, in less developed countries or in areas affected by natural disasters. Although in the future, as mentioned, this discovery may be useful to everyone, given the low cost of implementation.