G24 dye-sensitized solar tech out in time for the holidays

Cleantech gadget lovers and Blackberry addicts may want to get out their holiday wish lists.

Cardiff, Wales-based G24 Innovations said electronic bags incorporating its dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) technology are to be out in time for the December shopping season. The bags can be used to power everything from iPhones to cameras, while lowering the carbon footprint of such products.

The company’s G24i photovoltaic panel—which can collect energy from outdoor or low light indoor conditions—is expected to be used in a range of bags that can repower cell phones, e-readers, portable LED lighting systems, and other mobile electronic devices.

“It’s solar without sun,” CEO John Hartnett told the Cleantech Group.

But the technology and potential for personalized solar power has even larger potential, Hartnett said in an interview from Taipei, on the heels of the Hong Kong Electronics Fair where the new electronic bags were unveiled.

“When people see it operating indoors and working indoors they are amazed,” he said.

G24 announced its first commercial shipment this week for its DSSC photovoltaic modules to Hong Kong-based consumer electronics bag maker Mascotte Industrial Associates. Hartnett wouldn’t disclose the financial arrangement with Mascotte or details of the multi-year arrangement, but said the first shipment was “in the thousands.”

The module is based on technology invented by renowned chemist Michael Graetzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. G24 licensed unlimited worldwide rights to manufacture the technology in 2006, and Hartnett said his company has continued to work with the institute to further develop the technology.

The technology works very much like photosynthesis, Hartnett said, and uses nanotechnology.

The cells have two electrodes and an iodide-containing electrolyte. One electrode is dye-absorbed highly porous nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (nc-TiO₂) deposited on a transparent electrically conducting substrate. The other is a transparent electrically conducting substrate only, G24 said.

As light hits the dye-sensitized solar cell, it is absorbed by the dye. The electrons that are excited can then create power.

See a schematic diagram of the energy flow in the dye-sensitized solar cell »

“It’s a flexible substrate that we use, so it’s highly bendable, compared to glass which is fragile and open to damage,” he said.

The energy conversion of the cells offers low power, suitable for mobile electronic devices, not yet reaching power levels of silicon solar cells.

“It will be more like a trickle than a full charge,” he said.

Hartnett said the difference between his company’s technology and competitors is that it won’t break if dropped on the ground and works indoors, harvesting light from down to 200 lux.

Earlier this week, South Korea-based LG Display unveiled a new case that uses a thin-film solar cell to recharge batteries for the e-reader device (see Cleantech Group report: E-readers a win for carbon emissions).

LG’s 20-gram solar cell has an energy conversion efficiency of 9.6 percent, but the company aims to reach 12 percent by 2010 and 14 percent by 2012, at which point LG Display plans to commercialize the technology (see Cutting the CO2 from e-readers with solar).

LG Display, which develops liquid crystal display technology, says the lightweight, flexible solar cell also has applications in mobile phones. The current efficiency level means it would take four to five hours in the sun to provide one day's worth of power for the e-reader.

Hartnett his company is also planning to make a case for e-readers. Its modules could be integrated into clothing, tents, electronic advertising, and indoor building integrated photovoltaic systems where on-site power generation is required or energy efficiency is needed.

He suggested products with its technology could be sold through retailers such as Best Buy in the United States, which is a primary target market for G24. The electronic bags are expected to range from $99 to $299 depending on the material they are made from such as leather, Hartnett said.

G24—which is working with undisclosed Silicon Valley-based partners to co-develop its consumer electronic products—expects the technology to transition from being on products such as bags to being embedded in them in the future. The technology could also have applications in regions of the world that don’t have electricity access.

G24 is initially going after a piece of the $70 billion-a-year battery market. During his trip to Asia, Hartnett said he was approached by some of the biggest names in the battery manufacturing business to see how they could partner with G24.

The majority of the solar industry is focused on building plants and rooftop arrays, but he said G24 is centered on the fact that 90 percent of people’s time is spent indoors.

“The challenge people have today is they can’t get through a full day’s charge if they are a user of an iPhone or Blackberry,” he said. “By providing [technology that works] in multiple lighting situations, it really enables customers to get what they need on the go,” he said.

G24 is looking to market its technology to professional consumers, such as photographers that carry backup batteries. The electronic bags could be supplied to the likes of Logitech, Kodak and Canon, Hartnett said, clarifying they are not customers.

However, the U.S. military is in discussions with G24, having recognized the value of the technology for soldiers in the field, Hartnett said.

G24 manufactures its modules using what it says is a low-cost, roll-to-roll manufacturing process, similar to inkjet printing, at its 187,000-square-foot facility in Wales. The company also has a sales and marketing office in Silicon Valley.

The nearly 100-employee company has raised about $100 million, with more than $50 million from Renewable Capital, $20 million from Morgan Stanley Principal Investments and $30 million from alternative energy fund 4RAE (see Cleantech venture investment reaches record of $2.6 billion in 3Q08 and Takeovers, buyouts and bankruptcy). Hartnett said G24 anticipates raising additional capital in the next five months.

G24 also recently made the the Guardian and Cleantech Group’s Global Cleantech 100 list, which highlights promising private cleantech companies around the world (see Surprises abound in first Global Cleantech 100 ranking).

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