Canadian university invents generation, storage solar cell

Nov 5, 2012 - The University of British Columbia has filed for an international patent for a battery type solar/light conversion cell that integrates solar power generation and storage.

The photosynthesis-based approach uses a light absorbing battery-like cell along with two electrodes and an electrolyte, the university said Friday. After light is absorbed by the light-harvesting molecules in the electrolyte, charges are transferred between them and mediator molecules, storing the harvested energy for extraction at the electrodes on demand.

The technology is designed to allow the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with a built-in storage element that tackle the intermittency of PV generation, the statement says. According to the university, the commercialisation of the invention would enable solar PV to play a much greater role in the overall energy supply and management system.

Professor John D. Madden, one of the leaders of the study, said that while PV technologies use thin absorbing layers and transparent electrodes, the new method involves light arriving parallel to the surface of the electrodes, providing for thicker devices with volume for energy storage. "With the new architecture one can envision the creation of solar ponds for harvesting and storage. This is a very general new approach," said Madden.

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