Transparent solar cells

 In August last year, researchers at the University of Michigan have invented a completely Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrator (TLSC), which could transform any window or a piece of glass (e.g. smart phone screen) into a photovoltaic solar cell. Recently a startup Ubiquitous Energy of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) perfects the technology closer to market applications.

    At present, the energy efficiency of TLSC prototype is only about 1% and should be able to rise to 10% when put into production predicted by the researchers, compared with traditional opaque concentrator which is only 7%. Although the efficiency is not high, it can add up if installed in every household or office building for a large scale application. Although it may not be able to make your smartphone or tablet for infinite life, it can prolong their service time several minutes to several hours if TLSC screen used.