The name of the game for many companies nowadays is green technology, with everyone scrambling to find a way to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This is why our 3D printing company in Seattle is pleased to see 3D printing playing such a valuable role in a cleaner, brighter tomorrow. Indeed, the 3D printer may quickly become the manufacturing method of choice for much of our solar-based power systems.
Today’s solar cells are made of organic polymeric materials, which are proving to be ideal for 3D printing applications. A printer can lay out these cells in custom shapes quickly and efficiently, reducing the amount of time it takes for a solar cell to offer returns on its energy consumption. And, better yet, it turns out that these new solar cells are surprisingly good at capturing the sun on cloudy days. Such cells have been observed to produce energy with an efficiency of about 13% under overcast conditions, which doesn’t sound like much until you consider that conventional commercial photovoltaics can achieve an efficiency of only 20% when exposed to direct sunlight.
In the near future, standard printing technology could be used to quickly deposit layers of solar cells across wide surfaces, very much like an oversized 3D printer. This will reduce the costs of large scale solar energy projects, and give the world better access to greener, sustainable power for years to come.
