> "The [dye-sensitized solar cell] consists of a porous conductive powder layer, which was formed, for example, by screen printing a conductive powder ink containing terpineol and titanium metal powder onto a porous glass-fiber substrate."
This kind of TiO2-based DSSC approach has been around for perhaps ten years at least. Here's one of the earlier papers (2011) listing ~4% efficiency (fairly low). The usable lifetime of the material has been one of the big problems in commercialization.
> "There are two main reasons for this. The first is DSSCs’ track record of problems with chemical stability and subpar performance in real-world applications. The second is that there are far more effective technologies for converting direct sunlight to electricity..."
China seems to have mastered relatively cheap monocrystalline Si cell construction since ~2015, which have high efficiency and long lifetime and are basically the best solar PV option on the market by a good margin. This is what those tariffs on Chinese solar panels are really all about, but no US manufacturer has anything similar in quality to offer. That's the result of miniscule American R&D budgets in the RE sector for 40 years, of course.
Thanks, I came to ask what the catch might be. After a while, these "revolutionary breakthroughs" in solar tech, battery tech, ... get a little exhausting and the default assumption is some company trying to rake in VC, drive up stock price or whatever. Just not a product we'll ever see.
That's not wrong. It would just be nice if we could have that without them pretending they already perfected it/had the breakthrough when there's still all the hard problems ahead.
This kind of TiO2-based DSSC approach has been around for perhaps ten years at least. Here's one of the earlier papers (2011) listing ~4% efficiency (fairly low). The usable lifetime of the material has been one of the big problems in commercialization.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20934187/
This article is a better overview of the current state of the industry. Maybe some of the earlier problems have been solved, maybe not.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/these-next-gen-so...
> "There are two main reasons for this. The first is DSSCs’ track record of problems with chemical stability and subpar performance in real-world applications. The second is that there are far more effective technologies for converting direct sunlight to electricity..."
China seems to have mastered relatively cheap monocrystalline Si cell construction since ~2015, which have high efficiency and long lifetime and are basically the best solar PV option on the market by a good margin. This is what those tariffs on Chinese solar panels are really all about, but no US manufacturer has anything similar in quality to offer. That's the result of miniscule American R&D budgets in the RE sector for 40 years, of course.