Off-grid markets are one of the key opportunities for photovoltaics (PV). According to the Alliance for Rural Electrification, approximately two billion people worldwide are not connected to grid electricity, affecting nearly one billion residents of Asia and 550 million people in Africa.

The question then becomes one of how to provide power for these areas, which are seeing increasing demand for electricity. Presently, many of people in these areas rely on kerosene-fueled lamps to provide lighting, which offer a poor output with serious health and safety concerns. PV offers an excellent opportunity for electricity generation in these economies, but the up-front costs for users are often prohibitive.

This opens the door for new low-cost approaches such as organic photovoltaics (OPV), and off-grid electricity is the initial market focus of Solar Press, a London-based OPV specialist. A new start-up that has received seed funding from the Carbon Trust, Solar Press was officially launched in April 2009 with its goals of commercializing low-cost PV modules at a fraction of the cost of present silicon-based technology.

“We were founded by the Carbon Trust and a partnership of leading scientists who are working in the field,” said Jonathan Halls, chief technology officer for Solar Press. “And together, we are using our know-how in printed electronics, polymer processing and the energy industry to deliver commercial products, and in doing so, help bring about a low carbon economy.”

The key to developing off-grid power is to make it genuinely affordable for consumers. Present-day solar systems have expensive up-front costs, often requiring government subsidies, but Halls said that OPV can be produced at far less cost.

“We have explored many application areas, looking for areas where OPV can have a really strong impact and where its performance is already sufficient for application,” Halls said. “We are focused on off-grid applications and do not compete with typical grid-tied PV. One such opportunity is in developing countries, where OPV-powered LED lighting offers an attractive alternative to kerosene lighting. Importantly, the same modules we are developing for lighting applications can bring other benefits to users, including the ability to charge mobile handsets, a key enabler in developing economies.

“The overriding issue is cost,” Halls added. “In our discussions with customers, we show how we can significantly reduce their costs. We have a very clear road map for driving down the costs of each and every element of a solar panel, and this guides all of our product development work. The reaction has been very positive.”

Halls said that Solar Press has already been able to achieve comparable efficiency rates to other OPV companies.

“Our efficiency is broadly equivalent to our competitors,” Halls said. “We are getting 7 to 7.5 percent on glass. Efficiencies on plastic are currently lower, but the gap is closing fast. Our technology is also very rugged and durable. We have the ability to custom manufacture, and can shape modules for specific applications.”

One of the challenges for OPV is developing the manufacturing know-how to produce flexible cells.

“We started off doing work on glass, and have been transitioning to plastic, initially using benchtop printing machines,” Halls said. “We now have roll-to-roll coating and printing facilities in operation. Manufacturing of our fully solution-coated device module design is underway.

“This uses well established high-speed low cost processing methods utilizing low cost materials for all stages of the production process,” Halls added. Gravure coating is one of several existing technologies they are adapting for OPV production. “Our business model is to work with multiple manufacturing partners who have the expertise in printing and coating. There is a lot of under-used infrastructure out there, which reduces risk for investors. The technology is also intrinsically scalable, as we have the option to roll out our processes to additional manufacturing partners as demand grows.”

So far, Solar Press has enjoyed a strong start, and the company is expanding its operations and staffing.

“We moved into our laboratory facilities in 2010 in central London,” Halls said. “We have been hiring leading scientists and engineers, and are now up to 10 people. We have a balanced mix of people who have experience at leading printed electronics companies and research institutes, as well as from the coating and automation industries. We have a great team.”

Halls emphasized again that solar power has to be cost competitive to succeed, and added that Solar Press is well positioned to move forward in the market.

“Our focus is achieving acceptable performance at greatly reduced cost,” Halls said. “Many of our competitors are focused more on driving up performance than lowering cost, but for OPV to work, it has to be low cost. OPV has an important space in the market, and we think it is on the cusp of being a winner.” �Solar Press See Opportunities for OPV in Off-Grid Markets

By David Savastano

Off-grid markets are one of the key opportunities for photovoltaics (PV). According to the Alliance for Rural Electrification, approximately two billion people worldwide are not connected to grid electricity, affecting nearly one billion residents of Asia and 550 million people in Africa.

The question then becomes one of how to provide power for these areas, which are seeing increasing demand for electricity. Presently, many of people in these areas rely on kerosene-fueled lamps to provide lighting, which offer a poor output with serious health and safety concerns. PV offers an excellent opportunity for electricity generation in these economies, but the up-front costs for users are often prohibitive.

This opens the door for new low-cost approaches such as organic photovoltaics (OPV), and off-grid electricity is the initial market focus of Solar Press, a London-based OPV specialist. A new start-up that has received seed funding from the Carbon Trust, Solar Press was officially launched in April 2009 with its goals of commercializing low-cost PV modules at a fraction of the cost of present silicon-based technology.

�We were founded by the Carbon Trust and a partnership of leading scientists who are working in the field,� said Jonathan Halls, chief technology officer for Solar Press. �And together, we are using our know-how in printed electronics, polymer processing and the energy industry to deliver commercial products, and in doing so, help bring about a low carbon economy.�

The key to developing off-grid power is to make it genuinely affordable for consumers. Present-day solar systems have expensive up-front costs, often requiring government subsidies, but Halls said that OPV can be produced at far less cost.

�We have explored many application areas, looking for areas where OPV can have a really strong impact and where its performance is already sufficient for application,� Halls said. �We are focused on off-grid applications and do not compete with typical grid-tied PV. One such opportunity is in developing countries, where OPV-powered LED lighting offers an attractive alternative to kerosene lighting. Importantly, the same modules we are developing for lighting applications can bring other benefits to users, including the ability to charge mobile handsets, a key enabler in developing economies.

�The overriding issue is cost,� Halls added. �In our discussions with customers, we show how we can significantly reduce their costs. We have a very clear road map for driving down the costs of each and every element of a solar panel, and this guides all of our product development work. The reaction has been very positive.�

Halls said that Solar Press has already been able to achieve comparable efficiency rates to other OPV companies.

�Our efficiency is broadly equivalent to our competitors,� Halls said. �We are getting 7 to 7.5 percent on glass. Efficiencies on plastic are currently lower, but the gap is closing fast. Our technology is also very rugged and durable. We have the ability to custom manufacture, and can shape modules for specific applications.�

One of the challenges for OPV is developing the manufacturing know-how to produce flexible cells.

�We started off doing work on glass, and have been transitioning to plastic, initially using benchtop printing machines,� Halls said. �We now have roll-to-roll coating and printing facilities in operation. Manufacturing of our fully solution-coated device module design is underway.

�This uses well established high-speed low cost processing methods utilizing low cost materials for all stages of the production process,� Halls added. Gravure coating is one of several existing technologies they are adapting for OPV production. �Our business model is to work with multiple manufacturing partners who have the expertise in printing and coating. There is a lot of under-used infrastructure out there, which reduces risk for investors. The technology is also intrinsically scalable, as we have the option to roll out our processes to additional manufacturing partners as demand grows.�

So far, Solar Press has enjoyed a strong start, and the company is expanding its operations and staffing.

�We moved into our laboratory facilities in 2010 in central London,� Halls said. �We have been hiring leading scientists and engineers, and are now up to 10 people. We have a balanced mix of people who have experience at leading printed electronics companies and research institutes, as well as from the coating and automation industries. We have a great team.�

Halls emphasized again that solar power has to be cost competitive to succeed, and added that Solar Press is well positioned to move forward in the market.

�Our focus is achieving acceptable performance at greatly reduced cost,� Halls said. �Many of our competitors are focused more on driving up performance than lowering cost, but for OPV to work, it has to be low cost. OPV has an important space in the market, and we think it is on the cusp of being a winner.��