vastly more efficient dye-sensitized crystals. After talking with Cao and arranging a licensing deal with UW, Tagge launched LivinGreen early this year, with Cao acting as chief scientific advisor, aside from his position with UW. This is not the first time Cao’s research has led to a commercial venture. His work on nanostructure batteries and other energy storage technologies led to the Seattle startup EnerG2, which Xconomy has previously written about.
The actual solar efficiency varies in different types of dye-sensitized crystals, with an average between five and seven percent efficiency. This is less than solid-state silicon crystal solar cells, which can reach up to 18 percent efficiency in lab conditions, but because the manufacturing cost is higher and deployment area much more limited for silicon cells, the less efficient DSCs are even in the short term a better investment for any company or group that is looking for a way to supplement their electricity for a lower cost, Tagge said. “There’s a very rapid cost recovery,” he added.
Tagge’s plan, though, is to make dye-sensitized crystals even better with LivinGreen’s own techniques. “We can improve efficiency by an enormous amount,” he said. Tagge said that the crystals currently under development by LivinGreen will reach about 15 percent efficiency in the lab, with about 11 percent efficiency in the field. The efficiency improves because of the nanostructure of the solar cells, which are designed to present more surface area for light absorption and allow the light to travel farther into the cell, imparting more energy. In terms of cost per watt, LivinGreen’s solar cells will cost about 40 percent less than other solar cells in use. The lab milestone of 15 percent efficiency will be reached in about eight months, Tagge predicts. After which will come the process of scaling up the technology for commercial and industrial use.
Tagge said he thinks two years is a safe estimate of how long it will take before any large-scale manufacturing of the solar cells begins, but he is confident of their success, especially in areas which don’t necessarily have the high concentration of sunlight—usually the basis of solar energy farms—because while each cell is not as efficient as silicon solar cells, the cost per watt makes them an economically viable source of solar energy. “It’s going to be a very effective source of solar power,” he said. And with the current state of the economy, solar power and low-cost solar power as a supplement to traditional electricity providers makes a lot of sense. “We’re not going to need tax breaks to be cost-effective,” Tagge said.
Cost-effective solar power in areas like Seattle may still seem unlikely, but LivinGreen hopes to overcome doubters, especially with the exposure, money, and advice it receives from the Clean Tech Open competition. It may not be many years until even the gray light of Seattle helps power our homes and businesses. “It’s just such an elegant solution,” Tagge said.