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					</table><p>A team of scientists from <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSIRO</a>, the Australian National Science Agency, have reported a new record efficiency in roll-to-roll fully printed solar cells.</p>
<p>In a paper published in <em>Nature Communications</em> journal, the team demonstrated performances for solar cells of 15.5% efficiency on a small scale and 11% for a 50 cm2 module, a record for fully printed solar cells containing perovskite.</p>
<p>While silicon solar panels are rigid and heavy, printed solar cells are highly flexible and portable and have a wide range of applications ranging from urban construction, mining operations, emergency management, disaster relief, and space to defense and personal electronics.</p>
<p>The flexible solar cells were produced using a method in which all components of the device were fully printed from inks. Carbon-based inks were used to replace gold in the solar cell, dramatically reducing the cost while maintaining high performance.</p>
<p>The solar cells were printed using roll-to-roll techniques, which can be used to print solar cells on a long, continuous roll of plastic.</p>
<p>This lightweight and flexible solar technology, printed onto thin plastic films, is expected to expand solar cell usage and meet the growing demand for renewable energy.</p>
<p>&#8220;CSIRO&#8217;s thin and lightweight solar cells are now on the cusp of emerging from the lab to create clean energy in the real world. Roll-to-roll printing allows for the solar cells to be manufactured on very long, continuous rolls of plastic, which can dramatically increase the rate of production,&#8221; said the agency&#8217;s Renewable Energy Systems Group Leader Anthony Chesman.</p>
<p>The team, which collaborated with researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Cambridge</a>, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monash University</a>, the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Sydney</a><u>,</u> and the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of New South Wales</a>, solved several engineering problems across a large surface area of interconnected modules to achieve record results.</p>
<p>&#8220;We developed a system for rapidly producing and testing over ten thousand solar cells a day – something that would have been impossible to do manually. We&#8217;ve also alleviated the need to use expensive metals, such as gold, in their production by using specialized carbon inks, which further reduces production costs,&#8221; stated Principal Research Scientist Doojin Vak.</p>
<p>Incorporating an advanced material called perovskite, CSIRO&#8217;s printed solar panels differ from the silicon solar panels found on Australian roofs. &#8220;Our thin, lightweight solar can be easily transported anywhere there is sun,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>The team also sent the solar panels to space to test their performance, to further optimize and provide a reliable energy source for future space endeavors.</p>
<p>Recently, scientists from the National University of Singapore <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/record-efficiency-tandem-solar-cell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a record energy conversion efficiency of 27.1% from a novel triple-junction solar cell, which promises to overcome current limitations in solar technology.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, researchers also <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/bulky-molecules-perovskite-solar-last-longer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that adding bulky molecules can make perovskite solar cells last longer, surpassing silicon solar cells&#8217; maximum theoretical efficiency.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/staff/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Staff</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"></div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

Australian Scientists Report Record 15.5% Efficiency for Printed Solar Cells


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					</table><p>Researchers at the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Sydney</a> claimed to have developed a new, low-cost sodium-sulfur battery with four times the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries. The success of the technology could significantly reduce the cost of transitioning to a decarbonized economy.</p>
<p>The new battery has been designed to provide a high-performing solution for large-scale renewable energy storage systems while reducing operational costs.</p>
<p>The research involved contributions from researchers at Chongqing University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Wollongong, the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and the University of Science and Technology China.</p>
<p>Lead author Shenlong Zhao, from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney, said, “This is a significant breakthrough for renewable energy development which, although it reduces costs in the long term, has had several financial barriers to entry.”</p>
<p><strong>Sodium-Sulfur Battery</strong></p>
<p>The battery was constructed using sodium-sulfur (Na-S), a type of molten salt that can be processed from seawater, which costs much less to produce than lithium-ion.</p>
<p>The widespread use of sodium sulfur has been limited because of its low energy capacity and short life cycles.</p>
<p>The team noted that using a simple pyrolysis process and carbon-based electrodes could improve the reactivity of sulfur and the reversibility of reactions between sulfur and sodium.</p>
<p>The researchers said this could, in turn, enable the battery to get rid of its formerly sluggish reputation and exhibit high capacity and long life at room temperature.</p>
<p>The Na-S battery is claimed to be a more energy-dense and less toxic alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which is both expensive to manufacture and recycle.</p>
<p>The lead author noted that storage solutions that are manufactured using plentiful resources like sodium have the potential to guarantee greater energy security and allow more countries to join the shift toward decarbonization.</p>
<p>The lab-scale batteries have been successfully fabricated and tested in the University of Sydney’s chemical engineering facility.</p>
<p>The research was funded by the Australian Research Council, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Ministry of Science and Technology China.</p>
<p>A BNEF report recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/lithium-ion-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-to-151-kwh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that after declining steadily since 2010, average prices for lithium-ion battery packs across all sectors have risen to $151/kWh in 2022, a 7% rise from the year before.</p>
<p>In July, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-scientists-develop-sodium-ion-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> nanomaterials to develop sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries and supercapacitors that can be integrated into e-cycles for rapid charging.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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Researchers Claim Sodium-Sulfur Battery Four Times More Potent than Lithium-Ion

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