{"id":6747,"date":"2025-05-05T07:50:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T11:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/?p=6747"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:29:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:29:53","slug":"state-skyscrapers-huge-batteries-tested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/state-skyscrapers-huge-batteries-tested\/6747\/","title":{"rendered":"Skyscraper windows turned into solar cells hit 10.8% efficiency in University of Michigan breakthrough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Skyscrapers are a common and<\/a> popular sight in cities. They are favored for their ability to house many people and activities within a bounded area, magnifying land use while contributing to sustainable development. A team led by the University of Michigan has set a new efficiency record for color-neutral, transparent solar cells that could one day be fitted into skyscraper windows, transforming them into sources of renewable energy.<\/p>\n

Skyscrapers are being transformed into solar power sources<\/h2>\n

Thanks to a team led by the University of Michigan, researchers set a new efficiency record<\/strong> for color-neutral, transparent solar cells. The team achieved 8.1% efficiency and 43.3% transparency using an organic, or carbon-based, design rather than traditional silicon. While the solar cells have a slight green tint, they are much more like the gray of sunglasses and car windows.<\/p>\n

Windows are on the face of every skyscraper, which makes them the perfect location for organic solar cells<\/strong>. According to Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering, the team chose organic cells because, unlike silicon, they offer a combination of very high efficiency and very high visible transparency.<\/p>\n

This is how transparent solar cells could reform urban sustainability<\/h2>\n

The curtain walls of skyscrapers usually have a coating on them to reflect and absorb sunlight in the visible and infrared spectrum. This is to reduce the brightness and heat inside the skyscraper. This is seen as a ‘waste’ of energy, which is why transparent solar cells can be useful in opening a new era of energy usage<\/a>. According to Professor Forrest’s group’s findings in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, some existing windows have transparency that is similar to the solar cells’ transparency.<\/p>\n

“The new material we developed, and the structure of the device we built, had to balance multiple trade-offs to provide good sunlight absorption, high voltage, high current, low resistance and color-neutral transparency all at the same time.” – Yongxi Li, assistant research scientist in electrical engineering and computer science.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The solar cells’ material is a mixture of organic molecules<\/strong> designed to be transparent in the visible and absorbing in the near-infrared. Near-infrared is an invisible part of the spectrum that accounts for much of sunlight’s energy. The research team also developed optical coatings to enhance the power produced from infrared light, as well as the transparency in the visible range. Normally, the two qualities compete with one another.<\/p>\n

The marvelous efficiency of transparent solar cells<\/h2>\n

Transparent solar cells are assessed by their light utilization efficiency. Light utilization efficiency<\/strong> indicates how much energy from the light hitting the window is available in the form of electricity or as transmitted light on the interior side. Past transparent solar cells have light utilization efficiencies of roughly 2% to 3%.<\/p>\n

The color-neutral version was produced with an indium tin oxide electrode, rated at a light utilization efficiency of 3.5%. A silver electrode version achieved an efficiency of 10.8% with 45.8% transparency, and a light utilization efficiency of 5%<\/strong>; however, due to its slightly greenish tint, it may not be acceptable in some window applications. Both organic solar cell versions can be produced at a large scale with materials that are less toxic than other transparent solar cells and can be placed between the panes of double-glazed windows. They can also be custom-made for local latitude, benefiting from the high efficiency when the sun’s rays strike them at a perpendicular angle.<\/p>\n

As Forrest’s team works on improving this innovative technology \u2014 with the next goal being a light utilization efficiency of 7% and a cell lifetime of about 10 years \u2014 existing skyscrapers could one day be retrofitted with transparent solar cell windows. Sustainable development in urban settings is becoming more efficient by the day, and soon cities all over will benefit from the power of renewable energy resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Skyscrapers are a common and popular sight in cities. They are favored for their ability to house many people and activities within a bounded area, magnifying land use while contributing to sustainable development. A team led by the University of Michigan has set a new efficiency record for color-neutral, transparent solar cells that could one … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":6748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"batteries,transparent solar cells,urban landscapes","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Soon we will say goodbye to traditional skyscrapers, as they will be transformed into huge batteries, reforming sustainable development in urban landscapes.","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}