Perovskite crystals may represent the future of solar power
Their efficiency rates far exceed those of conventional silicon panels
IT is commonly claimed, and also true, that enough sunlight falls on Earth in the course of an hour to meet a year’s worth of global power needs. Some of that sunlight is currently converted into electricity by arrays of solar panels: by the end of 2023, these panels covered almost 10,000 square kilometres of Earth’s surface, producing some 1,600 terawatt-hours of electricity, about 6% of that generated worldwide.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Sunny side up”
From the October 26th 2024 edition
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Satellites are polluting the stratosphere
And forthcoming mega-constellations will exacerbate the problem
AI models are dreaming up the materials of the future
Better batteries, cleaner bioplastics and more powerful semiconductors await
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How artificial intelligence can make board games better
It can iron out glitches in the rules before they go on the market
The skyrocketing demand for minerals will require new technologies
Flexible drills, distributed power systems and, of course, artificial intelligence