It is not unusual to draw inspiration from nature to create something spectacular. In fact, we’ve seen it countless times in art, designs, and several innovative technologies. Now, an Australian research team has proven that solar panels are a waste of time, and that technology inspired by flying butterflies is intended to power the future. Will this truly be the first step forward to putting conventional solar technology behind us for good? Let’s find out.
Conventional solar panels could be a thing of the past
Solar energy is one of the most popular and common renewable energy sources worldwide. Conventional solar panels consist of silicon-based solar cells and have been part of our lives for nearly seven decades since the first cell was created in 1954. It only had an efficiency rate of approximately 6%. Modern panels presently achieve between 20 to 25% conversion efficiency, depending on a variety of factors.
However, conventional solar panels’ absorption is limited, capturing only part of the spectrum, even during full sun exposure.
All of that could change much sooner than anticipated, as an Australian research team recently made a scientific breakthrough based on flying butterflies that could change the course of solar power as we know it. The team’s findings were published in ACS Photonics. The paper was co-authored by Dr Niraj Lal, Andrew Thomson, Kevin Le, Maureen Brauers, Kylie Catchpole, and Tom White.
Flying butterflies will power the future
The team of researchers from the Australian National University (ANU), led by Dr Lal, drew inspiration from the blue Morpho Didius butterfly. This butterfly’s wings consist of small cone-shaped nanostructures, which create the unique blue glow by dispersing light. This led the ANU Research School of Engineering team to design similar structures that allow them finely control light’s direction.
But what does this mean for solar technology? According to Dr Lal, their design can be utilized to enhance solar cells’ efficiency thanks to the ability to control light effectively. Imagine incorporating this technology into glass solar panels that already generate up to 400 kW. We could truly power the world in the future thanks to flying butterflies.
Controlling the direction of light
The team’s goal is to ensure the absorption of green, blue, and UV colors in the solar cells’ perovskite layer and the absorption of orange, red, and yellow light in the solar cells’ silicon layer. The type of solar cell used is a tandem solar cell, as it has double-decker layers. This cell type achieved a new silicon efficiency record, proving how valuable the technology can be.
According to Dr Lal, there are a few application possibilities, including:
- Architectural technologies
- Next-generation solar cells
- Stealth technologies
Opaque objects can be made transparent to specified colors and vice versa, which will be a breakthrough for future stealth applications. In architectural applications, windows can be altered to control the amount of heat and light that can pass through. Furthermore, the design is cost-effective and customizable. Dr Lal added:
“Techniques to finely control the scattering, reflection and absorption of different colours of light are being used in the next generation of very high-efficiency solar panels.”
What makes the Australian research team’s design even more remarkable is that the nanostructures “grow and assemble themselves.” This removes the need for nano-lasers and/or electrons to manage the structures. As the team continues to develop their work and improve it for commercial use, we could be utilising the next generation of solar panels that can absorb the entire light spectrum, something that has never been done before. As we wait to see history in the making, the world’s largest concentrator has been producing record energy with 380 mirrors.
