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December 30th, 2011, 09:47 GMT · By Oana Grigoras

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Black Silicon to Revolutionize Solar Industry

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Black silicon technology developed by scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Enlarge picture - Black silicon technology developed by scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have come up with a black silicon technology, seeking to make solar power more competitive with other types of energy over the next decade.

New Jersey-based Natcore will benefit from their findings, exploring the new path to launch a new generation of products, cheaper and much more advanced.

The silicon wafer licensed recently could count as a game-changer on the market of solar-powered appliances, since experts talk about potential improvements posed by infra-red imaging systems and night-vision.

According to its developers, the material displays a sensitivity to light up to 500 times bigger than its predecessor, the common, widely-used silicon detectors.

Financial benefits are also expected, since cell processing costs could decrease by 8%, due to the ingenious invention.

The collaboration between NREL and Natcore aims to make the black silicon technology even more affordable while boosting a new generation of solar cells  more energy-efficient, harnessing optimal amounts of sunlight throughout the entire day.

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READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: jack r. on 30 Dec 2011, 21:59 UTC reply to this comment

Sounds like Natcore will make a fortune over next few years.


Comment #2 by: mike on 02 Jan 2012, 18:31 UTC reply to this comment

if your interested in black silicon look at the Sionyx company. they were created by the people who first discovered black silicon (by accident of course) and there is now talks about them developing something described as pink silicon.

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