Organic solar film made from hydrocarbons is flexible, environmentally friendly and easy to apply. The film consists of solar cells that can be applied almost anywhere — not just on roofs.
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00:00 This film generates electricity. It's less than two millimeters thick, flexible,
00:05 and durable. It's also ten times lighter than conventional solar panels. It can be
00:10 applied almost anywhere on facades, roofs, silos, wind turbines, even on glass panes
00:17 and tents. Physics professor Carl Leo is one of the leading researchers on
00:24 organic solar cells. He co-founded the company Helia-Tech. Two million square
00:30 meters of solar film comes off its production line every year. The Dresden-
00:36 based company is a global market leader. Its customers include Samsung, E.ON,
00:41 logistics and retail groups. We can install solar cells in places where
00:49 there haven't been any till now. Everyone's talking about energy
00:52 self-sufficient buildings, but many rooftops, windows and facades aren't
00:57 being utilized right now and aren't suited to traditional solar cells.
01:03 The solar film is made from hydrocarbons. The organic molecules are
01:09 first synthesized and then applied to the carrier film using vapor deposition.
01:14 Helia-Tech doesn't allow the process to be filmed in order to protect the
01:18 patented technology. It's the reason why the company doesn't have to rely on
01:22 suppliers from China or Russia. We don't use any scarce rare-earth metals. We
01:30 don't use any toxic materials. Cadmium, lead, there's a virtually endless supply
01:35 of the resources we employ in our technology.
01:40 Helia-Tech already has some 450 patents on its technology. Currently its panels
01:47 convert about 8% of the energy and sunlight into electricity. That's still
01:52 quite a bit lower than conventional solar modules at about 20% efficiency.
01:56 But Helia-Tech is hoping to catch up within just a few years.
02:03 We won't manage that in the 2020s, but by the 2030s we definitely want to be
02:09 competitive on efficiency and price. And given the advantages our product
02:14 provides, we expect that conventional solar cell technology will gradually be
02:18 replaced by what we're doing here with our organic photovoltaics.
02:24 Analysts expect that the market for organic solar cells will continue to
02:28 grow. In 2020 the global organic solar cells market was valued at some 97
02:33 million dollars. By 2031 it's expected to be 807 million dollars, in good part
02:39 because the film is so versatile. It can be applied practically anywhere, like on
02:44 this bicycle garage, which can charge four e-bikes a day.
02:50 Organic photovoltaics can be easily incorporated into roofing film, so in the
02:57 future we'll be able to cover roofs with a film that comes ready-made with
03:00 integrated solar cells. They're lighter and more flexible and more
03:08 sustainable. That could help give the technology an edge over conventional
03:12 silicon-based solar modules. Silicon production isn't particularly
03:18 eco-friendly in several respects, so organic photovoltaics have some key
03:24 advantages in that respect. Demand for Helia-Tech solar film is high, higher
03:30 than the company can meet at the moment. So they only supply selected commercial
03:35 customers. But Helia-Tech is planning to build 10 new factories, so that private
03:40 customers will also have access to the organic solar films.