A mobile power supply for sustainability

Atsushi Wakamiya

Institute for Chemical Research

Humanity, long reliant on fossil fuels, is facing a major turning point. If we could fully harness solar energy, we could generate in just one hour the energy consumed yearly by the entire planet. To effectively utilize solar power as renewable energy, we are developing perovskite solar cells using organic semiconductor material design and synthesis techniques. These cells, made through a printing-like process at low temperatures, are lightweight and flexible when applied to film. They efficiently generate power not only in bright sunlight but also in cloudy conditions and indoor lighting. Based on our research, we established the Kyoto University startup EneCoat Technologies, Co. Ltd. Together, we are working on our research day in and day out to spread perovskite solar cells as a mobile power source in society.