Solar power breakthrough- flexible panels

Less than four months after signing a $2 million, 2 year contract to demonstrate flexile solar panels based on Dye Solar Cell technology to provide portable and sustainable energy, the project team has met the first major contract milestone.

The Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has approved achievement of the Design Review, held this month in Queanbeyan and the project is proceeding to the next phase.

The project is funded under the Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) program, administered by DSTO.

Flexible solar panels are suitable for applications including powering cooling, communications, and sensors, either as light weight mobile powerpacks, or integrated into field structures.

The project Director, Dr Gavin Tulloch, Chairman of STI and consultant to Dyesol, said that the designs being developed in this project have wide application to supplying green energy both in remote areas and for powering portable electronic equipment.

"Many competitors are focusing on plastic solar panels, but we believe that metallic substrates will provide solar panels that are much more suitable for rugged, lightweight portable power," Tulloch advises.