A Los Angeles-based company has developed an ultra-thin solar panel that you can duct tape to just about any surface, anywhere. Imagine the potential! Sunflare spent 16 years developing the solar cell made with copper, indium, gallium, and selenide, which they say are superior to traditional solar technologies in terms of weight and efficiency, generating 10 percent more power and weighing 65 percent more lightweight than other panels, according to their site:
The flexibility of Sunflare’s thin solar cells, which lack a glass substrate, mean they could be placed in areas inaccessible to traditional panels. Sunflare lays out their vision on their website: “Sunflare panels can be seamlessly incorporated into existing structures or integrated into unique architectural designs, all while providing clean, renewable, affordable energy.”
The manufacturing process has often tripped up solar manufacturers in the past; processes can be expensive due to materials or chemicals consumed. Sunflare says they’ve fixed many of those issues with their proprietary Capture4 solar technology, a way to make the solar cells with less toxic chemicals (they don’t use cadmium or lead) and less water. They’re also able to recycle the water they do use.
Sunflare says its CIGS solar cells are affordable too, potentially costing as little as $1.07 per watt. Read more here.