The current race among companies is to discover new forms of clean energy to advance in the industry.
Well, Japan is now leading the race. And that’s because Japanese scientists have developed the first titanium solar panel. If you’re wondering what the difference is with a conventional one, we’ll tell you: it promises to be 1000 times more powerful than traditional ones, so we could be talking about a revolution in the generation of sustainable electricity, as well as making energy much more accessible and affordable for everyone!
We are going to tell you everything we know so far about this new invention.
Where does this breakthrough come from?
It was at the University of Tokyo where these researchers have managed to create a solar panel using titanium dioxide and selenium, something never seen or created until now but which could put the rest of the renewable energy sector on the ropes.
Why is this type of solar panel so innovative?
To put it into context, conventional solar panels use silicon-based materials, but new titanium-selenium panels have proven to be more efficient, thanks to an advanced manufacturing process that precisely controls the interaction between these materials. Researchers found that by reducing the negative impact of tellurium on the selenium structure, the adhesion between the TiO₂ and Se layers was improved, allowing energy conversion efficiency to increase. In other words, these panels can generate much more electricity with the same amount of sunlight!
An expensive but powerful material
That’s titanium, extremely resistant and durable against corrosion, but it has one problem, and that is that its production cost is quite expensive and it has been limited to the aerospace and medical sector for the same reason, because extracting it from its mineral is very, very expensive.
But what if that were about to change? That’s where Japanese innovation comes into play, because one of the points of this research is to develop new methods to produce titanium but reducing its costs. Does “yttrium” sound familiar to you? Well, thanks to this, it could be possible.
What is yttrium?
Yttrium is a chemical element, not as famous as gold or silver, but its role in modern technology is irreplaceable. It is found in rare minerals and is used in everything from LED screens to superconductors. In this case, its magic lies in its ability to purify titanium, reducing costs and improving its application in sustainable technologies.
Challenges of yttrium?
The main problem with this element is that it leaves microscopic impurities in the final titanium, which could cause its resistance to be somewhat truncated and its durability reduced in certain applications… In order for this material to be used on a large scale, researchers must find a way for these remains to disappear. If they manage to overcome this obstacle, the titanium revolution could change renewable energy production forever. Isn’t that exciting?
Are we facing a new era of solar energy?
It seems so! The world is moving faster and faster towards dependence on clean energy because we are running out of time… and now, this discovery could be a key factor for mass adoption, they could be generating much more and more powerful electricity with the same resources we have so far, also making it much more accessible to more places.
But, like everything, we need people committed to R&D&I and international collaboration to accelerate, accompany and support this type of research so that our world can truly enter an energy model based on clean energy and 0 emissions.
Luckily, it is already underway with the discovery of this first titanium solar panel! We will continue to keep a close eye on the progress of this research
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