Aluminio is developing a new approach to using aluminum to replace the silver used on solar cells, reducing the costs and accelerating adoption of more efficient cell designs.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Silver materials used in solar cells are both scarce and costly—accounting for 10% of the world’s annual silver supply and 10% of the cost of solar materials. This material limitation has slowed the adoption of the most efficient solar cells around the world, as consumers and manufacturers worry about long-term panel price increases.
Aluminio is developing a new approach to replace over 90% of the silver in solar cells with aluminum, a less expensive and more abundant material. To aid with implementation, they also have designed a high-speed, high-precision process, which can be used to increase the output of existing production lines. Together, these approaches will make it easier and more affordable to scale solar energy technology.