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It just makes sense that solar cells be exposed to as much sunlight as possible, right? Not with Dr. Zhong Lin Wang’s new nanostructure optical fiber “hidden” photovoltaic cells. This Georgia Institute of Technology professor, along with a team of researchers, recently developed a new way to create renewable energy, and it could spell a major change in the roof-top solar panel dominated industry—and in fact may take solar collectors underground. According to Wang:

“Optical fiber could conduct sunlight into a building’s walls where the nanostructures would convert it to electricity. This is truly a three dimensional solar cell.”

These solar collectors are made by modifying common optical fibers used in the telecommunications industry for data transport, applying zinc oxide (think lifeguard nose protection) as a conductive coating, and then adding nanowires as well. Then a dye-sensitized material is added that uses a photochemical system to produce energy. These are cheap to make, are highly durable and flexible, and very versatile. In fact, they could be installed into walls, roofs, and other building materials without any visual disturbance, making the collection of energy possible on nearly any surface.

“This will really provide some new options for photovoltaic systems,” Wang said. “We could eliminate the aesthetic issues of PV arrays on building. We can also envision PV systems for providing energy to parked vehicles, and for charging mobile military equipment where traditional arrays aren’t practical or you wouldn’t want to use them.”

One drawback is efficiency. Unlike traditional silicon-based solar cells which get about 12% efficiency, these currently only about 3.3%, but with diverse applications in which this technology could be used, the trade-off may just be worth it. And they hope to increase efficiencies to about 8% in the near future.