The latest contributions to the global renewable energy effort include the creation of the next generation of photovoltaic solar cells, according to analyst Frost & Sullivan.
In its report Third Generation Photovoltaics: Strategic R&D Portfolio Management, Frost notes the importance of the panels for both renewable energy infrastructure on a large scale and in individual applications for consumer electronics.
Although the former may seem like the best prospect for solar installations of substantial size, it is the electronics market that is expected to see the most immediate use of third-generation photovoltaics.
The consumer-facing sector may also help to guide future development of the technology as dye-sensitised solar cells are more frequently used to provide the necessary power source for durable products.
Avinash Iyer, senior research analyst for technical insights at Frost & Sullivan, says: "The photovoltaic panels will be integrated with consumer durables such as backpacks; these panels harvest energy when used outdoors and re-power mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones, e-books, cameras and portable light-emitting diode lighting systems."
However, there are still some obstacles to overcome in order to apply organic photovoltaic panels on a large scale - such as that needed to incorporate them into renewable energy infrastructure.
Frost explains that the panels show satisfactory levels of power conversion efficiency in laboratory testing, but in the real world issues such as interfacing, charge transport and band gap must be taken into account.
Band gap relates to the specific atomic structure of the semiconductor used in the solar cell and refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that it cannot absorb due to the position of its orbiting electrons.
Down-converting photons to the next available energy level is one means to overcome this and Frost suggests that, if such issues can be overcome, the cells could find more widespread application in energy-generating installations.
