David Savastano, Editor04.22.09
As society adapts more and more technologies that rely on power, the need for a way to reenergize this equipment is becoming more essential. For example, cell phones and laptops are a part of our everyday fabric, but there are times when the traditional means of recharging equipment is not available.
Konarka Technologies, Inc. is working to ensure that power will be available, no matter how remote the surroundings. The Lowell, MA-based specialist in organic photovoltaics (OPV) has been in the forefront of a wide variety of new approaches for generating power, most recently in a collaboration with Australia-based SKYShades on the Powerbrella, an umbrella which generates power for recharging cell phones, laptops and other portable devices.
The Powerbrella incorporates Konarka’s lightweight Power Plastic® on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella. Designed for use at outdoor venues such as cafés and restaurants, hotel and resort swimming pools and outdoor lounges, the Powerbrella provides coverage from the sun while that energy is used to power their portable devices.
Today, Konarka is developing and advancing nano-enabled polymer photovoltaic materials that are lightweight, flexible and more versatile than traditional solar materials. This new breed of coatable, flexible, plastic photovoltaics can be used in a wide range of applications where traditional photovoltaics are unable to compete.
Konarka’s technology is based on the work of the late Dr. Sukant Tripathy, an internationally known materials scientist and professor at UMass Lowell, and Dr. Alan Heeger, a 2000 Nobel laureate in chemistry.
Dr. Tripathy’s team at UMass Lowell, together with Molecular Technologies’ team – Dr. Srini Balasubramanian, Dr. Kethinni Chittibabu, and Dr. Lian Li – initially developed advanced photovoltaic technology for soldiers under the coordination and support of the U.S. Army's Natick, Massachusetts Laboratory.
This discovery enabled, for the first time, the use of a wide variety of low-cost polymers as the top and bottom surfaces of the photovoltaic cell. It also enabled the photovoltaic cells to be manufactured at high speed using coating and printing technologies. The resulting plastic-based photovoltaic cells are efficient across a much broader spectrum of light than traditional solar cells, allowing them to be used effectively indoors and outdoors, under a variety of weather conditions.
This breakthrough led to the founding of Konarka in July 2001 by the above team, Howard Berke, the company’s executive chairman, and Heeger, who is currently a professor at the University of California.
Konarka’s earliest work was in the field of dye sensitive cells (DSC).
“The first generation technology was dye sensitive cell technology,” said Dan Williams, vice president of product development at Konarka. “Organic photovoltaic (OPV) solid state material is the second generation of materials.
“We’re literally printing these materials,” Williams added. “We purchased a Polaroid facility in New Bedford, MA, which is perfectly suited to Konarka’s technology. We are achieving 3 percent efficiency, and are planning for higher efficiency of 4 percent or 5 percent by the end of the year. In the lab, we are certified by NREL at 6.4 percent.”
Work began a year ago on the Powerbrella, which utilizes Konarka Power Plastic thin film, which converts light to energy. Powerbrella is expected to be available for purchase by the third quarter of 2009.
The Powerbrella incorporates the lightweight Konarka Power Plastic on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella, designed for use at outdoor venues.
“Powerbrellas are ideal for street cafes and poolside where you don’t want to use power cords,” Williams said. “We demonstrated our technology to some of SKYShades’ customers, and they liked it.”
The arrival of the first significant quantity of the thin film will also allow SKYShades to build its first prototype parking structure, to be announced soon. Eventually, the combination of the thin film Konarka Power Plastic and the tension-membrane shade structures developed by SKYShades will allow many different outdoor locations, including covered car parking areas, car washes, stadiums, amphitheatres and retro-fitted roofs to capture power that could be stored for use or sold back into the electrical grid.
“Konarka’s plan is to be a film manufacturer, and our best customers are able to take our material and integrate it into their own products,” Williams said.
SKYShades is a great example of a small company with a lot of vision. They make tension membrane fabric for shading large areas, which provides a lot of surface area where solar power can be generated. For example, SKYShades is working on carports in Australia. Australia literally mandates that shade be provided for outdoor events, and studies show that shoppers will spend more hours at malls that offer shaded parking areas. Malls could also offer premium parking, perhaps for hybrid cars.
Portable power from Konarka’s material is being pulled into a variety of every day applications, such as solar bags, lanterns and camping equipment, but remote power goes well beyond this. The company envisions its transparent platforms will bring another host of opportunities. Once commercially available, the company believes its technology will be a great platform for integrating directly into windows and skylights as well.
“There is a well-know correlation which shows an inverse relationship between poverty and access to electricity,” said Williams. “Electricity literally empowers individuals to tap into prosperity. Our technology provides a platform to supply power to remote locations, often the most impoverished areas, where access to a centralized grid system is not available. We are just starting to scratch the surface of the possibilities there.”
The destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina clearly showed the importance of having alternate means of generating power. “One of the things we noticed after Hurricane Katrina is the need for rapid deployment of energy,” Williams said. “There are two things that are essential immediately following a disaster – lighting and communication.”
The potential of flexible PVs was shown at the World Energy Summit 2009 in Abu Dhabi, which showcased the plan to develop Masdar, a carbon-neutral city of 50,000 people in the United Arab Emirates that will be completely green.
“The architects are anticipating how every square foot of a building’s surface can be used to create and/or store energy,” Williams said. “Traditional silicon-based solar panels are best for rooftops, but most everything else will be shaped, and our material is ideally suited due to its light weight and flexibility, as well as its ability to be used on vertical surfaces.”
While the company has enjoyed success through customizing products, Williams said that Konarka is ready to head to the market with standardized products.
“We are ready to ramp up production, and should be set to go to market with our own line of products later this year,” he said. “We have designed standardized products with certain voltages and wattages, although we also still do selective customization.”
Konarka is enjoying much success. The company’s technical innovations have led to investments of $150 million in private capital and $20 million in government research grants to date.
“Traditional solar has its strengths,” Williams concluded. “But we believe the flexible thin film market is going to move at a higher rate of growth than traditional silicon-based solar. We see our opportunity as leading a paradigm shift in the solar industry, as we widen the road for solar applications in the mindset of the designer and the inventor.”
Konarka Technologies, Inc. is working to ensure that power will be available, no matter how remote the surroundings. The Lowell, MA-based specialist in organic photovoltaics (OPV) has been in the forefront of a wide variety of new approaches for generating power, most recently in a collaboration with Australia-based SKYShades on the Powerbrella, an umbrella which generates power for recharging cell phones, laptops and other portable devices.
The Powerbrella incorporates Konarka’s lightweight Power Plastic® on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella. Designed for use at outdoor venues such as cafés and restaurants, hotel and resort swimming pools and outdoor lounges, the Powerbrella provides coverage from the sun while that energy is used to power their portable devices.
Today, Konarka is developing and advancing nano-enabled polymer photovoltaic materials that are lightweight, flexible and more versatile than traditional solar materials. This new breed of coatable, flexible, plastic photovoltaics can be used in a wide range of applications where traditional photovoltaics are unable to compete.
The Beginnings of Konarka
Konarka’s technology is based on the work of the late Dr. Sukant Tripathy, an internationally known materials scientist and professor at UMass Lowell, and Dr. Alan Heeger, a 2000 Nobel laureate in chemistry.
Photo courtesy of Konarka Technologies, Inc. |
This discovery enabled, for the first time, the use of a wide variety of low-cost polymers as the top and bottom surfaces of the photovoltaic cell. It also enabled the photovoltaic cells to be manufactured at high speed using coating and printing technologies. The resulting plastic-based photovoltaic cells are efficient across a much broader spectrum of light than traditional solar cells, allowing them to be used effectively indoors and outdoors, under a variety of weather conditions.
This breakthrough led to the founding of Konarka in July 2001 by the above team, Howard Berke, the company’s executive chairman, and Heeger, who is currently a professor at the University of California.
Konarka’s earliest work was in the field of dye sensitive cells (DSC).
“The first generation technology was dye sensitive cell technology,” said Dan Williams, vice president of product development at Konarka. “Organic photovoltaic (OPV) solid state material is the second generation of materials.
“We’re literally printing these materials,” Williams added. “We purchased a Polaroid facility in New Bedford, MA, which is perfectly suited to Konarka’s technology. We are achieving 3 percent efficiency, and are planning for higher efficiency of 4 percent or 5 percent by the end of the year. In the lab, we are certified by NREL at 6.4 percent.”
Powerbrella
Work began a year ago on the Powerbrella, which utilizes Konarka Power Plastic thin film, which converts light to energy. Powerbrella is expected to be available for purchase by the third quarter of 2009.
The Powerbrella incorporates the lightweight Konarka Power Plastic on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella, designed for use at outdoor venues.
Photo courtesy of Konarka Technologies, Inc. |
The arrival of the first significant quantity of the thin film will also allow SKYShades to build its first prototype parking structure, to be announced soon. Eventually, the combination of the thin film Konarka Power Plastic and the tension-membrane shade structures developed by SKYShades will allow many different outdoor locations, including covered car parking areas, car washes, stadiums, amphitheatres and retro-fitted roofs to capture power that could be stored for use or sold back into the electrical grid.
“Konarka’s plan is to be a film manufacturer, and our best customers are able to take our material and integrate it into their own products,” Williams said.
SKYShades is a great example of a small company with a lot of vision. They make tension membrane fabric for shading large areas, which provides a lot of surface area where solar power can be generated. For example, SKYShades is working on carports in Australia. Australia literally mandates that shade be provided for outdoor events, and studies show that shoppers will spend more hours at malls that offer shaded parking areas. Malls could also offer premium parking, perhaps for hybrid cars.
Power in Remote Locations
Portable power from Konarka’s material is being pulled into a variety of every day applications, such as solar bags, lanterns and camping equipment, but remote power goes well beyond this. The company envisions its transparent platforms will bring another host of opportunities. Once commercially available, the company believes its technology will be a great platform for integrating directly into windows and skylights as well.
“There is a well-know correlation which shows an inverse relationship between poverty and access to electricity,” said Williams. “Electricity literally empowers individuals to tap into prosperity. Our technology provides a platform to supply power to remote locations, often the most impoverished areas, where access to a centralized grid system is not available. We are just starting to scratch the surface of the possibilities there.”
The destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina clearly showed the importance of having alternate means of generating power. “One of the things we noticed after Hurricane Katrina is the need for rapid deployment of energy,” Williams said. “There are two things that are essential immediately following a disaster – lighting and communication.”
The potential of flexible PVs was shown at the World Energy Summit 2009 in Abu Dhabi, which showcased the plan to develop Masdar, a carbon-neutral city of 50,000 people in the United Arab Emirates that will be completely green.
“The architects are anticipating how every square foot of a building’s surface can be used to create and/or store energy,” Williams said. “Traditional silicon-based solar panels are best for rooftops, but most everything else will be shaped, and our material is ideally suited due to its light weight and flexibility, as well as its ability to be used on vertical surfaces.”
While the company has enjoyed success through customizing products, Williams said that Konarka is ready to head to the market with standardized products.
Konarka is enjoying much success. The company’s technical innovations have led to investments of $150 million in private capital and $20 million in government research grants to date.
“Traditional solar has its strengths,” Williams concluded. “But we believe the flexible thin film market is going to move at a higher rate of growth than traditional silicon-based solar. We see our opportunity as leading a paradigm shift in the solar industry, as we widen the road for solar applications in the mindset of the designer and the inventor.”