The military it seems is always at the forefront of the latest in renewable energy technology in addition to many other types of technologies. The reason behind this fact is another rather simple fact and that is fossil fuels are increasingly expensive, difficult to transport and dangerous to say the least. Also fossil fuels create heat signatures which can be detected by enemies. Fossil fuels are becoming ever more difficult to procure. This is the primary reason why the military is so interested in renewable energy technology.

People were not surprised when it was announced that the Air Force Research Laboratory in conjunction with the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center and the technology company Plentronics were working together to develop conductive ink which allowed for an ink jet printer to printout organic photovoltaic solar cells and panels on a very thin, and flexible surfaces.

The new technology is called Plexcore and has a number of advantages for military applications. A few of the advantages being, that it (the technology) has a small logistical footprint, and it’s rather inexpensive to use and manufacture. They can also easily be used to power portable communications devices, GPS units and systems, cell phones and many other devices that ground teams carry around. The solar cells can also be easily be printed on soldier’s uniforms, and military tents and provide a ready source of energy.

Lieutenant Christopher A. Vaiana when talking about the new technology said that the commercial and military operations today demand portability and highly efficient power sources. Using sunlight as a power source efficiently can change a lot of the technology which the military uses for the better. However the development of such technology has been restricted by size and costs but this new technology is set to change all of that.

According to Plextronics all the applications with printed electronics will just require one layer of conductive printing which can be integrated with other organic semiconductors, conductive films and dielectrics in order to create energy.

How do these cells work?

Printed solar cells work by collecting sunlight within the photoactive layer to create a charge. When voltage is applied the charge splits into negative and positive charges then these charges are directed to two or more conductive electrodes i.e. cathode and anode to create power. The whole mechanism improves the extraction of the positive charges which are taken from the photoactive ink by matching the levels of energy to the photoactive ink. The Plexcore PV combination inks used in the printed solar cell enables the system to be consistently improved and improve the efficiency of the device this results in an increased ability for the device to convert sunlight more efficiently into more power.

Another good thing about these printed solar cells is that they can make use of indoor light to create energy. This increases the number of applications for home use. However the military will be the first to adopt this technology before consumers do.