The ultra-thin solar film that generates electricity

DW (English)

Organic solar film made from hydrocarbons is flexible, environmentally friendly and easy to apply. The film consists of solar cells that can be applied almost anywhere — not just on roofs.

Transcript

00:00 This film generates electricity. It's less than two millimeters thick, flexible,

00:05 and durable. It's also ten times lighter than conventional solar panels. It can be

00:10 applied almost anywhere on facades, roofs, silos, wind turbines, even on glass panes

00:17 and tents. Physics professor Carl Leo is one of the leading researchers on

00:24 organic solar cells. He co-founded the company Helia-Tech. Two million square

00:30 meters of solar film comes off its production line every year. The Dresden-

00:36 based company is a global market leader. Its customers include Samsung, E.ON,

00:41 logistics and retail groups. We can install solar cells in places where

00:49 there haven't been any till now. Everyone's talking about energy

00:52 self-sufficient buildings, but many rooftops, windows and facades aren't

00:57 being utilized right now and aren't suited to traditional solar cells.

01:03 The solar film is made from hydrocarbons. The organic molecules are

01:09 first synthesized and then applied to the carrier film using vapor deposition.

01:14 Helia-Tech doesn't allow the process to be filmed in order to protect the

01:18 patented technology. It's the reason why the company doesn't have to rely on

01:22 suppliers from China or Russia. We don't use any scarce rare-earth metals. We

01:30 don't use any toxic materials. Cadmium, lead, there's a virtually endless supply

01:35 of the resources we employ in our technology.

01:40 Helia-Tech already has some 450 patents on its technology. Currently its panels

01:47 convert about 8% of the energy and sunlight into electricity. That's still

01:52 quite a bit lower than conventional solar modules at about 20% efficiency.

01:56 But Helia-Tech is hoping to catch up within just a few years.

02:03 We won't manage that in the 2020s, but by the 2030s we definitely want to be

02:09 competitive on efficiency and price. And given the advantages our product

02:14 provides, we expect that conventional solar cell technology will gradually be

02:18 replaced by what we're doing here with our organic photovoltaics.

02:24 Analysts expect that the market for organic solar cells will continue to

02:28 grow. In 2020 the global organic solar cells market was valued at some 97

02:33 million dollars. By 2031 it's expected to be 807 million dollars, in good part

02:39 because the film is so versatile. It can be applied practically anywhere, like on

02:44 this bicycle garage, which can charge four e-bikes a day.

02:50 Organic photovoltaics can be easily incorporated into roofing film, so in the

02:57 future we'll be able to cover roofs with a film that comes ready-made with

03:00 integrated solar cells. They're lighter and more flexible and more

03:08 sustainable. That could help give the technology an edge over conventional

03:12 silicon-based solar modules. Silicon production isn't particularly

03:18 eco-friendly in several respects, so organic photovoltaics have some key

03:24 advantages in that respect. Demand for Helia-Tech solar film is high, higher

03:30 than the company can meet at the moment. So they only supply selected commercial

03:35 customers. But Helia-Tech is planning to build 10 new factories, so that private

03:40 customers will also have access to the organic solar films.

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