Photo sensitive plastic

[dogsbody]

A couple of years ago I saw a research note regarding a startup company in Switzerland, who had succeeded in getting a plastic to convert light into electrcity. The basis was that a house would be cladded with stuff, as it was said to be low cost, but low output per sq. ft

Anybody know anything more about this innovation?

[russ]

I have read about that, paint and other things but they seem to go away. A company that either runs into technical problems or is just fishing for money from sucker investors.

[Sunking]

Nothing new about this. There is a Vaporware solar company in the USA called NanoSolar that makes a plastic laminate solar panel. It has been around for more than 40 years. Problem is the Sun degrades plastic and destroys it in a very short time.

[Naptown]

Nothing new about this. There is a Vaporware solar company in the USA called NanoSolar that makes a plastic laminate solar panel. It has been around for more than 40 years. Problem is the Sun degrades plastic and destroys it in a very short time.

I heard they were printing on an aluminum backing sheet.
However I have yet to see proof that they have actually placed any modules into service yet.

[Sunking]

However I have yet to see proof that they have actually placed any modules into service yet.

Ditto, it is vaporware.

[russ]

Like the clowns making the ultra capacitor to use in place of batteries - lots of PR and blather but no product.

[Mark-in-Seattle]

Ultra-capacitors useful in EV When paired with Battery

Like the clowns making the ultra capacitor to use in place of batteries - lots of PR and blather but no product.

My wife and I are Nissan Leaf EV owners; modest price, 100 miles on $2.20 of renewable hydropower here in the Northwest, what's not to like.

Ultra-capacitors are very useful when employed in normally inefficient regenerative braking sub-systems for EV applications. Current technology EV batteries as you already know do not enjoy trying to absorb 100+ amp bursts from the motor/generator during deceleration, but ultra-caps eat that for breakfast and for millions of cycles. Deploying a 70,000 watt second array of ultra-caps to store deceleration energy peaks which can either be reused for drive motor aceleration or dumped more slowly and efficiently into the EV battery is a viable and I believe currently used design strategy.

Just wish the Leaf used this approach, but hitting a modest price point for vehicle introduction probably took precedence over engineering elegance.

[russ]

An EV is fine if one does not mind prepaying their fuel bill for years to come.

[noone]

Plastic PV

Hi

I think this is getting close to reality.

http://www.csiro.au/en/Outcomes/Climate/Reducing-GHG/OPV-question-and-answer.aspx

Still a few years off. Will be better in a place like Australia with lots of sun and lots of space.

There was something on Tv here recently about this and I think it had advanced a bit further. Might be closer than that 5 years in the link.

[Mark-in-Seattle]

EV's have an Opportunity to Reach a wider Customer Base

An EV is fine if one does not mind prepaying their fuel bill for years to come.

Certainly and important point, which has limited the adoption of production EV's historically.

This economic barrier is addressable by Nissan I feel if their investment in the 300,000 EV vehicle per year factory in Tennessee proves successful in the near future, helping the company move down along the production cost curve for this new class of vehicle. I base this optimistic assessment on, among other things, Nissan's industry leading EV battery cost reduction efforts, thought to be 1/2 the cost per kwh of it's competitors, the inherently (I believe) less materially intensive demands on EV motor and powertrain production compared to ICE vehicles with that technology's required subsystems. EV powertrains require more silicon and copper, ICE's especially the heat management and lubrication subsystems, involve greater material by weight and more manufacturing steps. Excluding the battery, this helps EV's compete on vehicle initial price and lower longterm cost of ownership due to anticipated reduced maintenance verses ICE's with more extreme thermal cycles and friction wear.

As you point out the battery has the disadvantage of greater upfront capital cost which must be weighed against the owner's future multi-year hydrocarbon expenses. Some customers are in a position to make that investment now. If the price for a 2014 model year Leaf drops below $20,000 I suggest more two car families will find it advantageous to cross over and replace one ICE vehicle with an EV for reasons that do not depend on $4.00 gasoline in the US for the reasons cited below.

EV's are quiet without needing to be heavy (well insulated) or expensive (our S80 Volvo and XJR are quiet but rather hefty). And due to the unique EV acceleration power curve rather more fun to drive than we initially expected. It's not push you back in the seat XJR acceleration, but unlike both our ICE's with their multi-gear transmissions the Leaf and it's single gear reducer off the motor responds nearly instantly to a firm push on the petal and just accelerates like the dickens in an unflagging manner until you are going much faster, in a shorter distance than anticipated. This is in large part I think because the power curve is so darn smooth and robust regardless of initial motor RPM. You have to experience it in several road situations to fully appreciate it. This gives EV's a way to satisfy customers for reasons other than purely altruistic or as a cerebral investment hedge against hydrocarbon cost escalation. In my experience EV's are actually really fun to drive! As long as the cost differential for this pleasure visa-vi ICE's is reasonable; well below the Tesla Roadster pain threshold, I am optimistic EV's will find a larger market in the next 5 years.

[peakbagger]

Konarka in Mass makes a clear plastic laminate with a printed on grid and is developing window integrated PV panels that look clear from a distance but up close has a bunch of dots on it. I dont think they are in commercial production.

[russ]

The last car I bought a few months back was a Nisan Micra gas engine. Would have preferred a common rail diesel for a little bit better mileage and diesel is cheaper here but the cost premium of the CDI made it not attractive. It does nothing for resale and you have to hold on to the car for several years to recover the cost.

Forget the environmental aspects - I expect a very small (but vocal) percentage of the population makes this a big part of their purchase.