Advanced textiles to harvest and store the Sun's electrical energy
Rigid photovoltaic devices can now be seen on rooftops and solar farms around the world. Flexible fabrics that do the same work could easily exploit the exact places where the Sun is most intense and shade is desirable. With this in mind, the EU-funded POWERWEAVE(opens in new window) (Development of textiles for electrical energy generation and storage) project developed novel fibrous materials to harvest sunlight and store electrical energy. The technology combines photovoltaic fibres based on dye-sensitised solar cell technology and rechargeable energy storage fibres exploiting thin-film battery or supercapacitor technology. Fibres are knitted or woven together into a photovoltaic textile. Project partners developed and applied fibre spinning and coating methods ahead of integrating the two fibres into a textile. The lack of stable photovoltaic and storage fibres for conversion into fabric prevented them from fully achieving their initial objective of a solar-generating and energy-storing remote power supply. The fibre-based technology has several significant benefits and innovations that set it apart from traditional solar and energy storage alternatives. It is adaptable, bendable, weighs much less than conventional solar cells and batteries, can be stored and transported easily, and does not require installation. In addition, the textile solution's fibres enable the technology to weave modules with a large surface area, and its combined energy harvesting and power storage capacity allows the production of 100 % generation or 100 % storage materials, or a combination of both. POWERWEAVE technology will be a welcome addition to large markets for both commercial and consumer applications. This innovation could also be applied to sectors such as commercial greenhouses, aircraft, clothing and areas without access to electricity grids.
