Solar roofing panels which are greener, lighter, cheaper and flexible, and which can be printed on the steel used in buildings, are the focus of new three year research collaboration between Swansea experts and Tata Steel UK. The solar roofs would enable buildings to generate, store and release their own secure supply of electricity. This would reduce reliance on fossil fuel energy such as gas, and ease pressure on the National Grid, especially as surplus power generated by a building can be used to charge up electric vehicles. The concept is called Active Buildings and it has already been shown to work. Two Active Buildings have been in operation successfully on the Swansea University campus for several years. The aim of the new research is to explore the potential of this technology further and speed up the process of turning it into products for industry to manufacture.The collaboration was launched with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the University’s Bay campus, where the Active Buildings are located. It is the latest chapter in a longstanding partnership between Swansea University and Tata Steel. Solar energy is crucial in the shift towards clean, green power. In just one hour enough solar energy falls on the earth to meet the energy needs of the entire world for a year.Traditional solar cells are manufactured from silicon, which is expensive and requires a lot of energy to produce. But a new type of cell, called a perovskite solar cell, which is highly efficient, is a cheaper and lighter alternative to silicon-based solar panels. PSCs can be made locally using widely available materials and manufacturing them emits less than half the carbon compared to a silicon cell. Crucially, another advantage of PSCs over silicon is that they are flexible rather than rigid. This means they can be printed, using techniques such as screen printing, directly onto a material such as coated steel. This opens the door to creating innovative steel products for use in the construction industry that have built-in solar generating technology.Swansea University will contribute expertise in manufacturing the printable cells, led by the SPECIFIC Innovation Centre, which pioneered the concept of Active Buildings and designed and built the Active Office and Classroom. Tata Steel brings in their expertise in coatings on steel, screen printing and supply chains for materials. The project is called STRIPS/Tata Steel Industrial Acceleration.
Solar roofing panels which are greener, lighter, cheaper and flexible, and which can be printed on the steel used in buildings, are the focus of new three year research collaboration between Swansea experts and Tata Steel UK. The solar roofs would enable buildings to generate, store and release their own secure supply of electricity. This would reduce reliance on fossil fuel energy such as gas, and ease pressure on the National Grid, especially as surplus power generated by a building can be used to charge up electric vehicles. The concept is called Active Buildings and it has already been shown to work. Two Active Buildings have been in operation successfully on the Swansea University campus for several years. The aim of the new research is to explore the potential of this technology further and speed up the process of turning it into products for industry to manufacture.The collaboration was launched with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the University’s Bay campus, where the Active Buildings are located. It is the latest chapter in a longstanding partnership between Swansea University and Tata Steel. Solar energy is crucial in the shift towards clean, green power. In just one hour enough solar energy falls on the earth to meet the energy needs of the entire world for a year.Traditional solar cells are manufactured from silicon, which is expensive and requires a lot of energy to produce. But a new type of cell, called a perovskite solar cell, which is highly efficient, is a cheaper and lighter alternative to silicon-based solar panels. PSCs can be made locally using widely available materials and manufacturing them emits less than half the carbon compared to a silicon cell. Crucially, another advantage of PSCs over silicon is that they are flexible rather than rigid. This means they can be printed, using techniques such as screen printing, directly onto a material such as coated steel. This opens the door to creating innovative steel products for use in the construction industry that have built-in solar generating technology.Swansea University will contribute expertise in manufacturing the printable cells, led by the SPECIFIC Innovation Centre, which pioneered the concept of Active Buildings and designed and built the Active Office and Classroom. Tata Steel brings in their expertise in coatings on steel, screen printing and supply chains for materials. The project is called STRIPS/Tata Steel Industrial Acceleration.
