solar cells

$100M donation powers decade-long moonshot to create solar satellites that beam power to Earth

It sounds like a plan concocted by a supervillain, if that villain’s dastardly end was to provide cheap, clean power all over the world: launch a set of three-kilometer-wide solar arrays that be

Dracula Technologies turns ambient light into energy with printed solar cells

Internet of Things devices are proliferating, making daily tasks more convenient for many people — but that comes at a cost. The United Nations expects the amount of e-waste created globally to reac

This solar array expands itself at the right temperature

Wouldn't it be nice to have a solar panel that's only there when the sun shines on it? That's the idea behind this research project, which uses shape-shifting materials to make a solar panel grow from

These hyper-efficient solar panels could actually live on your roof soon

The clean energy boffins in their labs are always upping the theoretical limit on how much power you can get out of sunshine, but us plebes actually installing solar cells are stuck with years-old tec

Aurora Solar’s computer-generated installation maps pull in a $20M Series A

Solar installations are becoming a no-brainer for anyone with a roof in much of the country. But getting an estimate on how much it would cost and how much juice it would generate can be complicated a

Sharp Reaches Record Conversion Efficiency With New Solar Cell

Solar energy has just made one step forward: Sharp <a href="http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/111104.html">announced</a> that it has developed a solar cell boasting the world's highest conversion

Mitsubishi Chemical To Commercialize Printable Solar Cells Next Year

<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/solar-panel-1.jpg" /> Another small step ahead in solar energy: <a href="http://www.m-kagaku.co.jp/index_en.htm">Mitsubishi Chemical</a>

New Tech Reduces Production Costs Of Solar Cells By Up To 70%

<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/jaist_solar.jpg" /> The <a href="http://www.jaist.ac.jp/index-e.html">Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology</a> (JAIST) has

Sanyo To Mass-Produce World's Most Efficient Solar Cells

<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/sanyo_solar.png" /> Yesterday, we <a href="http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/12/02/sharp-to-start-mass-producing-efficient-solar-cells/">re

Sharp To Start Mass-Producing Efficient Solar Cells

<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/101201_1.gif" /> Back in September, <a href="http://search.beta.techcrunch.com/query.php?y=%2Ftc_eng_id%2Fsearch%2Fv1%2Fquery%2Fsharp%25

Sharp Sets New Record For Solar Cell Efficiency

<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/solar_panel.jpg" /> If there's something solar energy as a technology needs, then it's better and cheaper solar cells. And now Sharp has

Japan gets inexpensive, yet innovative solar cells

Japanese companies Gunze and Dai Nippon Printing are each developing new technologies that make it possible to produce low-cost, pigment-sensitized solar cells. Gunze focuses on low-end solar cells th