MIT researchers print solar cell on paper
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have successfully coated paper with a solar cell (...) using a process similar to an inkjet printer, [it] is a promising way to lower the weight of solar panels. (...) The materials MIT researchers used are carbon-based dyes and the cells are about 1.5 percent to 2 percent efficient at converting sunlight to electricity.(...) [These new paper solar cells] are still in the research phase and are years from being commercialized. (...) MIT professor Karen Gleason headed the research and has submitted a paper for scientific review but it has not yet been published.
[In the meantime,] Susan Hockfield, MIT's president, and Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian oil company Eni, on Tuesday officially dedicated the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center. Eni invested $5 million into the center, which is also receiving a $2 million National Science Foundation grant, said Vladimir Bulovic, the center's director