30-09-2011
Scientists at CENIMAT are attempting to reduce the costs of harnessing the sun’s energy by creating ceramic tiles that can perform photovoltaic action, so-called “solar tiles” that can be used to tile roofs and walls.
Hugo Águas, Rodrigo Martins and their research group at CENIMAT:I3N laboratory of FCT-UNL and CEMOP-UNINOVA have successfully fabricated solar tiles and demonstrated market viability with a cost estimation. Their new solar tiles were able to achieve a 5% conversion efficiency and 80% quantum efficiency.
Reference:
H Aguas, S K Ram, A Araujo, D Gaspar, A Vicente, S A Filonovich, E Fortunato, R Martins and I Ferreira, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1ee02303a
