Armstrong J.H., Retureta S.P., Lee I.
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., US
Keywords: CIGS, flexible PV, portable power, sUAV
Converting solar energy into electrical power has been an attractive alternative to fossil fuels for many years, and with the advent of lightweight, flexible, efficient photovoltaic (PV) blankets, many applications have been envisioned where off-grid power generation has become a reality. Ascent Solar’s novel flexible, lightweight, monolithically-integrated CIGS on polyimide substrates offers a highly-redundant, robust power generation solution that is available in the consumer market, as well as in development for portable power solutions for today’s military, onboard power generation for small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV), electric-powered aviation, near-space and space applications. While space vehicles have been using PV from the beginning of its existence, other non-traditional applications are just realizing the potential of on-board power generation. In this presentation, we will illustrate the inherent robust nature of our PV technology, and will be presenting the development of several key product areas using our flexible CIGS PV, including sUAV, electric powered civil aviation, and fully-integrated portable power generation/management/storage solutions. Challenges for each area will be discussed, and the novel solutions using flexible lightweight CIGS PV will be described, and pertinent data and analyses on performance will be provided.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Materials for Energy, Efficiency and Sustainability: TechConnect Briefs 2015
Published: June 14, 2015
Pages: 203 - 206
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Solar Technologies
ISBN: 978-1-4987-4728-8