"PV accelerator This £11 million development project is researching the application of dye-sensitised solar cell “paint” to a steel substrate to generate electricity.
The project — a partnership between Tata Steel and Dyesol — is expected to be prototyped at SBEC within the next year. The ultimate aim is to incorporate this energy-generating technology within the fabric of the building, eliminating the need for a separate element.
The project is a development of technology patented in Switzerland some years ago and arose from Tata Steel’s research into anti-weathering pigments. According to Rodney Rice, Tata Steel’s business development manager — photovoltaics, the accelerator is a series of coated and printed layers that build up the structure of a PV cell.
This active material is just 50 microns thick (each micron is one-thousandth of a millimetre). It is sandwiched between a steel base and a polymer packaging material.
“The potential benefits are that it is flexible and lightweight so would have applications on buildings that currently can’t carry the load of PV panel.
It also has implications for appearance because it is the roof rather than something bolted onto the roof, so would give freedom and flexibility,” says Rice. The product is expected to be ready for commercialisation in three to five years’ time."
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