The printable solar cells are not new.
I already reported several times that Nanosolar has build the most advanced printing process for making solar thin film panels and that there had been some big investment made by french group EDF. This time I’ll show you that there is a Japanese research group has just begun developing lithium polymer batteries that can be mass manufactured by using roll-to-roll printing technology.
The research group responsible for the discovery is lead by the Japan-based Advanced Materials Innovation Center (AMIC) of Mie Industry and Enterprise Support Center (MIESC).
They showed a prototypes of two types of batteries:
- One has an output voltage of about 4V at a room temperature
- The other has an output voltage of about 2V.
The thickness of the battery is about 500?m, but there was no information about the capacity.
The sheet-shaped battery is expected to be used with a flexible solar battery or display and to be attached to a curved surface. If the battery is integrated with a solar battery formed on a flexible substrate, it is possible to realize a sheet that can be used both as a power generator and a power storage, AMIC said
The printed battery sheet is very thin and flexible (can be attached to curved surfaces) and designed for use with a flexible solar battery, a combination that could be both a power generator and power storage unit.
Source: Treehugger and TechOn