Solar Cell Archive

  • Panasonic ready to pump $1.1 billion into solar energy business

    Panasonic ready to pump $1.1 billion into solar energy business

    Posted on January 13, 2010 | No Comments
    There's a reason why Panasonic paid $4.4 billion in this economic downturn to acquire former rival Sanyo, and the reason is that Panasonic wants to go as "green" as possible in the future. Sanyo isn't only the world's leading maker of lithium ion batteries, but also the (now former) company behind the eneloop brand, which consists of a range of eco-friendly solar products. But buying Sanyo wasn't enough for Panasonic's solar ambitions, as the company says it's now ready to invest another $1.1 billion by fiscal 2015 in its solar business segment. By that time, Panasonic aims at being among the world's top three solar cell makers. The company wants to reach the top spot among Japanese makers as early as 2012.

    Full Story

  • Sharp develops efficient solar cells for use in outer space

    Sharp develops efficient solar cells for use in outer space

    Posted on December 23, 2009 | No Comments
    Earlier this year, we reported twice about Japan's serious plans to go to outer space to generate solar energy and then beam it back to Mother Earth. And today, Sharp has shown the first solar cell that's not only bendable (we've seen that before) but that also withstands conditions in space. In addition, the company says those cells boast a record-high solar efficiency of 36%.

    Full Story

  • Tokai Challenger: Solar cell-powered “green” race car

    Tokai Challenger: Solar cell-powered “green” race car

    Posted on September 8, 2009 | No Comments
    Sharp Japan today said [press release in English] it supplied a total of 2,176 high-quality solar cells to a research team developing a sun-powered racing car at Japan-based Tokai University. The cells used for the car are usually powering satellites and measure 77 x 39mm, which translates back to a total area of about 6m2.

    Full Story