Organic solar cells to appear at UK event

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 21 Mar 2011

An organic photovoltaic (OPV) product developed by Australian company Skyshades will be used in a show garden at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011 in May.

The show garden will enable Skyshades to demonstrate its lightweight, Tensile PV membrane in the UK, which is one of its target markets. The flower show fair will follow up on Skyshades' UK launch of its OPV membrane at the recent Ecobuild exhibition in London. The event drew record numbers of exhibitors with PV products to introduce and showcase in the UK, including PV roofing panels.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show attracts global attendance and coverage. Skyshades will use its new product for different features and applications in the garden. The substrate will also be applied to poly-tunnels in the run-up to the show, to create warm conditions for growing the flowers in preparation for the event.

Roofing

To promote its Tensile PV, Skyshades has secured a number of deals and projects around the world, including Brisbane cricket stadium, Australia, and the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

These solar modules can be deployed where traditional panels are used, but its structural flexibility and light weight add value in many applications where conventional panels cannot be used, including large roofs, flat roofs, warehouse roofs, car park covers, solar farms and awnings.

To make its Tensile PV, Skyshades integrates OPVs on plastic supplied by Konarka on to flexible substrates that can be added to canopies, umbrella fabrics, and other lightweight structures and materials. The companies have been working together over the past few years to field test the OPVs and develop commercial products, which Skyshades is commercialising.