2023-05-23 00:30:42
Scientists at the Catalonia Eurecat technology center have developed new organic photovoltaic cells, which are flexible and semi-transparent, so that they allow the simultaneous use of land to cultivate and produce energy because they let the solar radiation that the plants need pass through.
As explained by the researcher of the Unit of Functional Printing and Integrated Devices of Eurecat Ignasi Burgués, the new photovoltaic cells they incorporate materials that ensure light absorption compatible with plant growth“a formula that opens the doors to a revolution in the field of agrovoltaics since it makes possible a synergistic combination between agricultural activities and energy production”.
Implemented within the framework of the European project Synatra, the new organic photovoltaic modules will be made with functional material printing techniques and laser structuring in order to provide them with flexibility and the necessary degree of transparency.
According to Burgués, during the project will investigate the use of combinations of photoactive organic semiconductors with tailored light absorption spectra to let through the radiation that different plants need to grow and take advantage of other regions of the solar spectrum to generate electrical energy simultaneously.
“In addition to covering the plantations homogeneously, we want to investigate additional benefits that we believe this technology can bringsuch as filtering harmful radiation for plants or contributing to reducing water evaporation from the soil, maintaining milder and suitable conditions for crops,” added Eurecat researcher Laura López. The project will include manufacturing of a prototype that will integrate these new flexible photovoltaic solar modules into agricultural protection systems.
The director of Eurecat’s Functional Printing and Integrated Devices Unit, Paul Lacharmoise, has specified that they will evaluate “the impact of this technology in a real environment with the integration of photovoltaic modules in frost protection networks, to functionalize and reassess existing agricultural systems.” Eurecat has already prepared the field test that will be carried out in apple orchards in Girona and Lleida
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