Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Source: Building Products News/ 7-Jul-2005 /infolink.com
http://www.infolink.com.au/articles/
Aussie-company-set-to-shine-in-solar-cell-market_z158697.htm

Australian solar energy technology company Dyesol is listing on the Australian Stock Exchange to commercialise its revolutionary dye solar cell technology. Just as chlorophyll in a leaf absorbs energy from the sun for the needs of a plant, the dye in Dyesol solar cells absorbs light to generate renewable electricity in a process known as artificial photosynthesis.

Dyesol cells can be used as the walls or roofs of buildings, providing renewable power even on overcast days. Chairman, Richard Caldwell, says: “Dyesol is a world leader in dye solar cell (DSC) technology which are a quantum leap in technology from the earlier silicon-based photovoltaic cells because they can operate in low light conditions, and will make a major contribution to the future supply of renewable energy.”

“Our assessment is that there is no other company in the world that is as advanced as Dyesol and we are now at a point where our technology and its related production processes and applications can be commercialised on a global scale,” he says. Managing director, Sylvia Tulloch, says Dyesol’s technology has attracted particular interest because “it provides renewable, non-polluting, cost-effective electricity generation. “After setup costs, which vary between commercial and residential applications, our technology slashes electricity bills because the energy source is free,” she said.

Dyesol’s business plan is designed to deliver an “early harvest” of financial returns without the need for a large investment in manufacturing solar cells. Instead, the company will sell DSC components and equipment, ranging from the dyes used in the cells to the design and delivery of full manufacturing facilities, ready for operation.

Dyesol’s specific DSC technology combines artificial photosynthesis with one of the world’s first commercial applications of nanotechnology, replicating the “leaf” of a plant with a layer of titania – the material used as a pigment in white paints and tooth paste – and the plant’s chlorophyll with ruthenium dye.

Sunlight striking the dye excites electrons which are absorbed by the titania to become an electrical current. An electrolyte, which is also part of a “glass sandwich” containing the titania and dye, then replaces the electron to complete a circuit. Dyesol’s technology is said to have advantages over conventional photovoltaic technology because the Dyesol cells can be manufactured at lower cost and it can produce electricity efficiently in low light conditions.