Breakthrough discovery in technology to generate solar electricity at night

Artwork: Canva/Euronews

By demonstrating that it is possible to produce solar electricity at night, Australian scientists have achieved a breakthrough in renewable energy technology.

In a study published in ACS Photonics on May 17, a team of experts from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) claim the discovery is the first step in creating more efficient devices that can capture energy. on a much larger scale.

The researchers say infrared thermal radiation can be used to generate electricity even after sunset, and this has allowed them to develop a semiconductor device called a heat-radiating diode that can can generate electricity from infrared light radiation.

Lead researcher, Associate Professor Ned Ekins-Daukes, said: ‘Using thermal imaging cameras, we see a lot of radiation at night, but only infrared wavelengths are not visible.

A radiant heat-radiating diode device, synthesized from materials found in night vision devices, can capture infrared thermal radiation and convert it into electricity.

Associate Professor Ekins-Daukes said that solar energy transmitted to Earth during the day would be reflected back into space with the same energetic radiation as infrared light at night. The radiant heat diode device will help capture this infrared heat radiation to produce electricity.

In the same way that solar cells can generate electricity from solar energy, radiant heat diodes generate electricity by emitting infrared light into colder environments. In both cases, the temperature difference is what helps generate electricity.

Research shows that radiant heat-radiating diodes generate clear electricity albeit in very small amounts, 100,000 times less than that produced by solar cells.

Scientist Michael Nielsen, a member of the research team, said that with knowledge in the design and optimization of solar cells and borrowing materials from the current mid-infrared optical sensor community, scientists hope Hope to soon realize the dream of generating solar power at night.