johan20090 schreef op 9 mei 2021 14:18:
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation organic solar cells
Taisei Corp.'s Zero Energy Building in Yokohama is an example of how buildings' walls can be covered with organic solar cells. The solar cells used on the building were provided by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. | TAISEI CORP.
Mitsubishi Chemical, which also develops polymer-based solar cells, has conducted experiments using the technology, including installing transparent organic solar cells on the windows of the Sendai International Center in Miyagi Prefecture.
Mitsubishi Chemical has also been collaborating with Taisei Corp., a major Tokyo-based construction firm, to develop wall materials made with organic solar cells for buildings.
“There is still no market yet, but we are in the process of creating that now,” said Hiroaki Yamaoka, who heads the organic solar cell business team at Mitsubishi Chemical.
Because organic solar cells can be used on windows and walls, “we have received positive reactions (from potential customers and partners),” he said.
A single solar cell manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical has an 11.7 percent conversion efficiency rate, but that plummets to about 5 percent when it is turned into a module.
The firm thinks that 5 percent is enough to make it commercially viable but still hopes to improve efficiency.
Mitsubishi Chemical plans to manufacture organic solar cells first for industrial use to increase name recognition. It then plans to make them available for all consumers, projecting that the business will take off sometime after 2020.
But for now, Mitsubishi has its work cut out for it.
Since few people know about the technology, it “is critical that we raise the profile of organic solar cells,” Yamaoka said.