Solar Batteries

Researchers develop a high-capacity solar battery based on a porous organic material storing solar energy for hours more

The world's first center for solar batteries and optoionic technologies is being established in Bavaria. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Society (MPG) have set the course for this with the support of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs. With the SolBat Center, a unique research ecosystem will be formed to research new types of energy storage systems and develop applications to use solar energy even more efficiently and flexibly. more

funded by the Max Planck Foundation with around 3 Mio. Euros more

An integrated solar battery based on a charge storing 2D carbon nitride more

  An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Max Planck Institutes for Intelligent Systems and Solid State Research has developed a biocompatible microswimmer made of carbon nitride, which they can propel forward through light. The particle can also store solar energy similar to miniature solar cells equipped with batteries, and can thus also swim in the dark using the stored energy. Even if the illumination is turned off, it can move forward for about half an hour with just 30 seconds of prior illumination. The photo-charging ability of this newly developed microswimmer opens up many opportunities for targeted drug delivery, environmental remediation, and other potential applications for such photo-chargeable micro- and nanomachines.   more