Imagine a factory that generates its own power from the very materials used to build it.
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Gone would be the rows of solar panels on rooftops and instead the steel, concrete, glass and any other construction materials used would be embedded with solar energy generators.
This is the future of renewable energy, and construction, according to Great Cell Solar managing director Richard Caldwell; and it’s being created right here in Queanbeyan.
Great Cell Solar (formerly Dyesol Limited) employs around 50 people globally including in multiple European countries and Korea. However it’s largest workforce resides where the company began in the mid 90s, Queanbeyan.
Great Cell have developed a new form of solar cell made of perovskite, originally a naturally occurring compound that the company has successfully synthesised. The technology originated in Switzerland several years ago but according to Mr Caldwell Great Cell have developed it further than any other company worldwide.
The company recently received a $6 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to assist getting the product commercialised.
Unlike silicone solar cells, which currently dominate the market, perovskite cells do not require direct sunlight and due to the panels being extremely thin they can be more easily embedded into other materials. Perovskite effectively generates power with cells less than two microns thick, a micron being one-one thousandth of a millimetre.
It’s also very cheap to make with Great Cell able to produce a square metre of the product for $1.50.
The major hurdle facing Great Cell is making the cells sufficiently durable because, as Mr Caldwell said, the sun is particularly destructive.
“Its positive attribute is its negative attribute,” he said.
Mr Caldwell said the company is confident it has got the technology to a point where it could last 20 years but further testing is needed.
The company is about to enter into a scaling up phase in partnership with CSIRO and has a specialist facility in Clayton, Victoria where it can perform accelerated testing on products.
Member for Eden-Monaro Dr Mike Kelly is a major supporter of the company and said he was very proud of this region’s contribution to the development of renewable energy.
“Eden- Monaro is already the renewable energy flagship of Australia with the Snowy Hydro and a large number of wind farms in the region,” Dr Kelly said.
At this stage Mr Caldwell said it was unclear whether the company would be able to commercialise perovskite cells themselves or would sell their research to larger international companies.
In either circumstance he said the future of buildings as individual power plants could be a reality as soon as 2022, and Queanbeyan will have played a central role in changing the world’s energy capabilities.