- IBM Researchers have developed a new type of solar cell which more efficiently converts sunlight into electricity (9.6% vs 6.7%).
- Semiconductor made of the elements copper, zinc, tin, and sulfur (abundant & cheap) as well as selenium (rare yet relatively cheap).
- Pros:
- Uses cheaper materials than other "thin film" solar cells.
- Ink-based manufacturing process solves many quality issues previously encountered with solar cells.
- Cons:
- The ultimate hurdle preventing mass-production of efficient solar cells is high cost and inadequate supply of the rare semiconductor components (e.g. selenium, indium, gallium).
- Future Research:
- If most/all of these elements could be replaced with a more common element such as sulfur without dampening semiconductor efficiency, the commercial success of solar cell technology would be soon-to-come.
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24521/?nlid=2741
- DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has been able to extract oil from algal ponds at $2 per gallon and says they will soon be able to implement large-scale refinement of that oil into jet fuel for less than $3 per gallon.
- This project stemmed from the US military being the nation's single largest energy consumer at 60-75 million barrels of oil per year.
- Pros to algae-based fuel:
- Algal farms don't threaten food supplies (unlike corn-based ethanol).
- Algal strains can be grown on household waste or other unsanitary water supplies.
- Algae absorbs CO2 during its growth (theoretically making the fuel carbon-neutral before procession & transport).
- It's amazing how research to reduce military costs could end up being America's saving grace for an affordable renewable energy source.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/13/algae-solve-pentagon-fuel-problem
