Solar Technology Gets White House Boost

“A company trying to harness energy from sunlight and interior light to wirelessly power everything from cell phones to signboards now has financial backing from the White House…

“Konarka’s development of plastic solar cell strips that can be manufactured like rolls of photographic film ”has the promise of becoming a low-cost manufacturing technique,” said Jeffrey Bencik, a Jefferies & Co. analyst who follows the solar industry. ”Some of their laboratory production has worked as advertised. But can they mass-produce it and get the same result? That’s the biggest question.”

“Among developers of solar technology for small-scale uses, Konarka is ”definitely doing the best job at developing what ultimately will have to be a mass-manufactured material,” said Dan Nocera, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemistry professor.

“However, Nocera said it remains to be seen whether Konarka’s so-called ”Power Plastic” is sufficiently chemically stable to convert energy efficiently both when light is dim and when it’s bright.

“Konarka, which takes its name from an ancient temple in India dedicated to the sun god Surya, was founded by Berke and Alan Heeger, who shared the 2000 Nobel Chemistry prize for showing that certain plastics can be made to conduct electricity.

“The discovery about polymers — long considered to be useful only as electrical insulators — led to the development of new types of plastics to create flexible and lightweight alternatives to traditional solar cells on heavy glass panels.

“Konarka developed low-cost plastics that could be used as the top and bottom surfaces of the photovoltaic cell. The 50-employee company says it has more than 280 patents and patent applications for materials, manufacturing and other processes and devices.

“The company says its solar cells are efficient across a much broader spectrum of light than traditional cells, allowing them to draw energy from both the sun and indoor lighting.

“Konarka says its material is lightweight and flexible so that it can be colored, patterned and cut to fit almost any device. The firm envisions embedding its material in cell phones, laptops and toys to provide power on the go. Clothing could be woven with the material to supply power for handheld electronics, and signboards, traffic lights and rooftops could be fitted with solar strips…”