Conventional solar panels capture less than 30 per cent of the energy that hits them Marc Venema / Alamy Stock Photo A new kind of solar cell has broken a theoretical limit on the efficiency of silicon-based cells, which could enable us to harvest more energy from sunlight. Almost all commercial solar cells are made … Read more
These solar cells can bend without breaking Wenzhu Liu Lightweight and bendy solar cells that are just as efficient as conventional ones could massively expand the use of solar power. Most solar cells in use today are crystal silicon-based, thanks to their high efficiency and ease of manufacture, but they can only be placed on … Read more
The Pleco cleaning robot uses rotating brushes to clean dust off solar panels BladeRanger Every day the dust settles on thousands of square kilometres of solar panels around the world, cutting the amount of electricity they produce. A robot designed by an Israeli start-up can autonomously clean rooftop solar panels that other cleaning robots can’t … Read more
The US military has spent billions of dollars on spy satellites and supersonic surveillance aircraft, but now it seems to be focusing on slow, lightweight solar-powered planes to do the same job Technology | Analysis 3 November 2022 By Matthew Sparkes The Zephyr made by Airbus is just one of the solar-powered planes out there … Read more
A solar fuel cell that produces carbon monoxide and hydrogen is light enough to float on water, which could help address the shortage of land available for solar projects Technology 17 August 2022 By Alex Wilkins The artificial leaf floating on the river Cam in Cambridge V Andrei et al. An artificial leaf that uses … Read more
The Airbus Zephyr S, a military reconnaissance aircraft, has more than doubled the record it set in 2018 for an uncrewed flight duration Technology 15 August 2022 By Matthew Sparkes The Zephyr drone flies at an altitude of 18.7 kilometres Airbus An uncrewed solar-powered aircraft has smashed its previous flight duration record by remaining aloft … Read more