Sunlight simulating lamp technology spins out from dye solar cell firm

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 10 Aug 2010

In Switzerland a start-up that will commercialise a low-energy plasma light technology has been spun out from Solaronix, a producer of chemicals for making dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC).

Lumartix, set up just a few days ago, is developing a commercial mercury-free light engine for applications that could include hydroponics. Because of the potential to tune and dim the light source for various requirements, the high-efficiency technology can be used to help mitigate light pollution.

The CTO of Lumartix is Andreas Meyer, who, with his twin brother Toby, set up Solaronix in 1993 to develop and supply chemicals for making DSSCs. The brothers studied at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), under professor Michael Graetzel, the solar cells' inventor.

Sunlight simulator

Solaronix's work led to the development of a lamp able to simulate sunlight for providing the right test conditions for DSSCs and Solaronix has also supplied one to an amorphous silicon PV company for testing modules. The company, based in Aubonne near Lake Geneva, uses revenues from sales of the lamp and those of its dye solar cell materials to fund ongoing R&D and work into optimising DSSC chemistry and also developing a printing process for making modules.

Solaronix is also close to finalising a process for scaling up the manufacture of DSSC materials to make production costs competitive and to meet growing demand for the materials, which according to Toby Meyer has risen steadily by 30% year on year.

To develop the plasma light technology for solar cell applications Meyer worked with Mirko Croci, a physicist. Five years of R&D focused on the technology, at the Laboratory of Applied Physics and Emerging Technologies at HEIG-VD, has helped prepare the light engine for wider commercial application and now Lumartix is looking for venture capital and other sources of funding to take
the technology to market.

+Plastic Electronics Volume 3, issue 2, will include a series of special features on the commercialisation of dye-sensitised solar cells, including more from our exclusive interview with Solarprint and others in the DSSC industry. The magazine will also be appearing at the forthcoming 4th International Conference on the Industrialisation of Dye Solar Cells, 1-4 November 2010.
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