SolarPrint's technology can convert even the lowest light found in the gloomiest corner of an office building into energy, writes Marie Boran

IRISH TECHNOLOGY company SolarPrint has found its niche in the smart economy with a unique solar cell that unlocks light energy in the darkest of places.

The immediate future of energy will not be dictated so much by generating fresh power, as through energy conservation. At the centre of this potentially huge market is the “smart building”. It is estimated that between 2010 and 2020 over $70 billion (€53 billion) will be invested in energy management systems.

Dublin-based SolarPrint has stolen a march on this lucrative market with its unique solar cell expertise and aims to be a world leader in the area, with an investment of €8 million over the next two years .

Its stock-in-trade are dye-sensitised solar cells created by patented technology that easily yields more energy per square millimetre in an indoor environment than global competitors. SolarPrint’s technology can get where others can’t by converting even the lowest light found in the gloomiest corner of an office building into energy through artificial photosynthesis.

“Most of the time we have shade or clouds or it’s raining. What happens then? What our technology has the potential to do is replace traditional silicon-based photovoltaic cells because it works throughout the day in all environments,” explains co-founder and business development director Roy Horgan. “Your typical solar tech company focuses on outdoors and when this kind of cell is moved inside it picks up light on the visible spectrum – ie from light bulbs – very poorly and fares badly in any kind of shade. Ours works equally well in any light condition.”

An important part of this and future development centres around the unique IP that arises from SolarPrint’s patent. The original patent is almost three years old and is going through its worldwide filing, says Horgan. “We are also developing a pipeline of new IP around new dyes for higher power in low light and printable flexible solar cells.”

The company considers this IP as vital to its business model and feels IP protection is one of the most important issues for emerging technology companies in Ireland because “it gives you the edge and platform to compete globally”.

This attention to intellectual property is something that SolarPrint encourages among researchers in Irish third-level institutes of education. “More activity in a particular sector is indicative of its relevance and following global trends in IP it would seem to be an area of excitement,” observes Horgan.

In fact, one of the cited scientists at present is Prof Michael Grätzel, who wrote the original patent for SolarPrint’s field – the dye-sensitised solar cell.

“Luckily we are quite advanced on a global scale but we don’t rest on our laurels because we are in a race in which intellectual property and commercial savvy are our weapons. Only the paranoid survive so we don’t make any assumptions!”

SolarPrint’s highly skilled RD team, coupled with a €2.7 million investment to date, has worked not only on getting the most from ambient lighting conditions but also on the production methods used to create these solar cells. Traditionally this is done by injecting a liquid between plates of glass, which is highly volatile and easily degraded.

This has been replaced with a printable gel – a process that is contributing to what will soon be the first ever high-volume manufacturing line for such solar cell technology.

The cost of manufacturing the liquid-based solar cells is high so SolarPrint’s distinctive gel-based method means that it can automate and accelerate the manufacturing process, which makes it more cost-effective. The company is in test phase and is consulting with several multinational companies but 2011 will see manufacturing begin and SolarPrint’s cells being produced and shipped worldwide.

The bulk of SolarPrint’s RD budget was invested between the gel print manufacturing process and tuning the cells specifically for low light.

“What we’re most proud of is the talented team here. There are 20 of us now and we’re growing at a rate of 1.5 people per month and that will accelerate further in 2011 with the €8 million investment.”

While SolarPrint’s product could be used in any device or system, the company has spotted a niche in wireless sensors. “A huge range of applications are being developed for low power right now. Most of the CO2 generated in the developed world is caused by the built environment – not cars, not cows – but heat and waste energy from buildings,” says Horgan.

“Smart buildings have hundreds of sensors for humidity, light, CO2 and so on. All of these are wireless and operate independently to tell the building what is going on in the environment. We see our product being used to power these sensors and generate huge savings.”