Solar Cells everywhere: MIT developed the world thinnest and lightest complete solar cell

To demonstrate just how thin and lightweight the cells are, the researchers draped a working cell on top of a soap bubble, without popping the bubble. The laboratory proof-of-concept (still a long way to go before every surface is coated in solar cells) shows a new approach to making solar cells that could be placed on almost any material or surface, including your hat, shirt, or smartphone, or even on a sheet of paper or a helium balloon.

[read more] [picture by Joel Jean and Anna Osherov]

unconsumption:

Recyclable solar cells have been created using material from trees [by] a research team from Georgia Institute of TechnologyandPurdue University. The researchers utilized natural substrates from trees to create organic solar cells. They also created these organic solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal or CNC substrates, which make it possible for the cells to be recycled in water at room temperature. When the solar cell is immersed in water, the CNC substrates dissolve easily and makes it easy for the solar cells to be separated into its main components.

(viaRecyclable Solar Cells Made From Trees - PSFK)