Novel Applications for Print Technologies Provide High Growth Opportunities
Increasingly, the new photovoltaics will be co-printed with batteries and other components. According to the study, they will even form part of the new industries concerned with stretchable electronics in healthcare and electronic smart packaging. People are working on edible electronics and electronics that morph into different shapes. Wristwatches are being developed that charge the battery from transparent photovoltaics over the viewing glass, so the battery lasts longer than the watch. Photovoltaic power sources in space satellites need radiation and heat tolerance, very high efficiency and very light weight. They have complex multilayer constructions using thin films, often involving gallium and germanium. Broad widths of tape unrolled alongside hundreds of kilometres of road could power signage and lighting; here cost is more critical than efficiency. New organic photocells made by high-speed printing may provide cost benefits even at 5–6% efficiency, although new materials and methods may do better.