CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Konarka Technologies is a solar company that specializes in organic photovoltaics, solar cells made from plastics.
Those cells are not as efficient or long-lasting as silicon, which is used in most rooftop solar panels. But they are lighter, flexible and can be integrated into a range of products, from consumer electronics to fibers. Konarka has even suggested putting its plastic on soft drink bottles in stores for advertising.
Konarka's organic photovoltaic cells are like films that it hopes will be integrated into a wide range of products.
(Credit: Konarka Technologies)So when will we start to see this new generation of consumer-friendly solar cells?
Konarka is now in commercial prototyping its solar cells and expects to have products that use those films by the second half of next year, said Howard Berke, the company's chairman and co-founder.
Rather than bring end products to market itself, Konarka's strategy is to partner with other "application" companies, he said. Berke spoke here on Monday at the Lux Research conference on nanotechnology.
Last week, the company announced a partnership with Air Products to make windows that generate electricity using Konarka's solar films. Berke said to expect announcements with a blind manufacturer and a battery company in the coming months.
The idea is to allow these partners to integrate solar cells into their products in compelling ways, rather than try to compete with solar panel makers on cost per watt.
"We're not selling high efficiency and not lower prices. It's the patterns, colors, the aesthetic attributes that make a product more valuable than just the power it produces," Berke said.
With organic photovoltaics, the efficiency of converting sunlight to electricity of its cells is about 5 percent (most silicon panels are in the 15 percent to 20 percent range). Berke said that he expects they will ultimately approach silicon's efficiency. Organic photovoltaics work well in a broader spectrum of light than silicon as well.
Konarka already does a lot of work for the military. But after raising $98 million, its biggest payoff--if the technology works as promised--could be in consumer products.
The next solar panel could be a window.
Konarka Technologies and Air Products have received a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a transparent, flexible solar panel that could be placed on a piece of glass or integrated into a window.
Konarka specializes in organic photovoltaics. These are complex molecules that can harvest portions of the infrared and visible light spectrum and turn the energy into sunlight. Organic photovoltaic panels don't last as long as silicon panels and 't aren't as efficient as silicon or other types of panels. But they can be transparent and flexible, allowing them to be placed unobtrusively on a lot of surfaces. Konarka also has an unobtrusive wire grid.
In the alliance, Konarka will work on the organic photovoltaics, while Air Products will try to tweak its conductive polymers (i.e. plastic that can conduct electricity) for this application.
If it works, it could be huge. But that's a big if. Konarka, which derived out of work conducted by Nobel prize winner Alan Heeger, has been around for years and raised $105 million in private investment funds. Unfortunately, it has also yet to have a breakthrough commercial application. Revenue mostly comes from grants and engineering services. The company recently got a new CEO.
Among other projects, it is also working on developing a polymer solar cell for recharging cell phones and other consumer electronics products. The idea is to integrate the solar cell. In February, Konarka investors said they hoped they would be able to announce an alliance for consumer electronics later this year.
- prev
- 1
- next
