Polish firm receives licence for new solar technology that works indoors under artificial light

A Polish company has become the first to receive approval from a leading certification body for a new type of flexible solar cell made using perovskite that is cheaper than traditional silicon-based photovoltaics and even produces power from artificial light.

Saule Technologies received the IEC certification from TÜV Rheinland, a Germany-based independent certifier, for its perovskite photovoltaic modules for consumer products. Those can be used in indoor spaces, such as with the dynamic in-store labels the company launched in Poland in 2021.

A Polish firm has launched electronic shelf labels powered by solar cells, allowing prices to be changed more easily and helping reduce food waste.

The firm is also working with Google on using its cloud technology and AI to dynamically update prices https://t.co/EV0aRhnZo0

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 1, 2021

TÜV Rheinland confirmed to Notes from Poland that Saule Technologies was the first in the world to obtain such a certificate. As a next step, the company will seek similar certifications for its technology in outdoor modules as well, which would enable it to market roof panels.

Saule Technologies launched its, and the world’s, first production line of printed Perovskite cells in the city of Wrocław in 2021. It produces thin, lightweight and flexible solar panels that are inkjet coated with a layer of perovskite.

It claims that these are not only more efficient than silicon panels but are also cheaper to produce because perovskite does not require very high temperatures in the moulding process.

“The awarding of the certification guarantees that the product has the status not of a unitary prototype, but of a mature market offering with stable, repeatable parameters,” said the firm’s parent company, Columbus Energy.

Saule Technologies’ founder and chief technology officer, physicist Olga Malinkiewicz, told Business Insider Poland that the next step for the company will be to certify its other products, including outdoor panels.

“This is within our reach. To produce outdoor panels at a competitive price, however, we need to scale up production. We need a new production line, with a capacity of 50-100 MW per year. This has been our dream for years,” she added.

Among the products being developed by the firm are structures that provide protection for buildings from the sun while simultaneously generating electricity that can be used, for example, to power air conditioning.

A Polish startup’s „wind panel” has won a clean energy award and €63,000 prize.

The device can generate electricity from the wind either as a free-standing structure or while serving as an enclosure, and is compatible with existing solar infrastructure https://t.co/JpgRhBUrzq

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 6, 2022

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Main image credit: Saule Technologies press kit

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.