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The Newcastle University research team next to a printed solar panel and a Tesla car
Photo: Stefica Bikes / REUTERS
Scientists in Australia are working on printed solar panels that they plan to use to power an electric car on a journey of more than 15,000 kilometers.
As part of the "Charge Around Australia" project, an electric car from the manufacturer Tesla is to be operated with 18 printed plastic solar cells.
The 84-day test drive is planned for September.
The panels are each 18 meters long and are designed to be rolled out alongside the vehicle to soak up sunlight when the vehicle needs to be charged.
A technology for remote places
The Newcastle University team not only wanted to test the panels' endurance, but also their potential performance for other applications, said Paul Dastoor, the inventor of the printed solar panels at the Research Center for Organic Electronics.
"This is an ideal test bed that gives us insight into how we can use the technology in other remote locations, for example in space."
The solar panels could be produced using a commercial printer originally used for printing wine labels.
They are made from a lightweight, laminated PET plastic.
A kind of »solar paint« is applied.
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According to the scientists involved, the costs amount to less than ten dollars per square meter - significantly less than what is incurred for a silicon solar system.
The printed solar panels have another advantage: the cells can produce electricity at lower light levels than conventional silicon-based solar cells.
Against "range anxiety"
It remains to be seen how practical it is to roll out 18 solar panels to charge the battery.
According to Dastoor, the experiment is primarily intended to send out a signal and provide an incentive to think about powering electric vehicles.
At best, the experiment could help reduce people's "range anxiety" in Australia, the researcher said.
"Society is looking for these kinds of answers to the problems it faces every day related to climate change."
Various researchers and companies are working on the concept of mobile and inexpensive solar panels, worldwide and also in Germany.
For example, the Dresden manufacturer Heliatek is developing flexible, self-adhesive photovoltaic films.
vki/Reuters
