PhD Student Discovers Method to Produce Solar Cells in Pizza Oven

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pizza oven

Solar power usage is growing in the United States, Europe, and Australia, but what about developing areas that don’t even have access to basic electricity? Now that University of NSW PhD student Nicole Kuepper has developed a cheap and simple way of producing solar cells in a pizza oven, these areas might get a chance to use solar power too.

Photovoltaic cells are generally expensive to produce and require large manufacturing plants. But Kuepper’s technology needs relatively low-cost items such as ovens, ink-jet printers, and nail polish. Her iJET solar cells also use a low-temperature process.

The technology will most likely be ready for commercialization in 5 years. Kuepper speculates that the iJET could be used on-site in poor nations to provide otherwise scarce energy.

While I am interested to know exactly how efficient these low-cost solar cells are, they will be of limitless value to those who don’t have any electricity at all.

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19 thoughts on “PhD Student Discovers Method to Produce Solar Cells in Pizza Oven

  • I’ll take a large peperoni, breadsticks, a coke, and 3 solar cells.

    with this new discovery and the discovery at MIT, we really could be off the grid in as little as a decade.

  • I’ll take a large peperoni, breadsticks, a coke, and 3 solar cells.

    with this new discovery and the discovery at MIT, we really could be off the grid in as little as a decade.

  • I’ll take a large peperoni, breadsticks, a coke, and 3 solar cells.

    with this new discovery and the discovery at MIT, we really could be off the grid in as little as a decade.

  • Here is another 5 to 10 years plan. Does anyone have something that works now?

    I’ve been hearing about these 5 to 10 year plans for the last 50 years!

    Same as the nano solar farce. All hat and no cattle!

  • Here is another 5 to 10 years plan. Does anyone have something that works now?

    I’ve been hearing about these 5 to 10 year plans for the last 50 years!

    Same as the nano solar farce. All hat and no cattle!

  • Here is another 5 to 10 years plan. Does anyone have something that works now?

    I’ve been hearing about these 5 to 10 year plans for the last 50 years!

    Same as the nano solar farce. All hat and no cattle!

  • Here, Here to what ‘Just Watching’ said. So why is iJet going to take 5years to get to market? Want to save the world? In 5years time it might be too little too late !

    Want to make money – well that might take 5years…

  • Here, Here to what ‘Just Watching’ said. So why is iJet going to take 5years to get to market? Want to save the world? In 5years time it might be too little too late !

    Want to make money – well that might take 5years…

  • Pingback: PhD Student Discovers Method to Produce Solar Cells in Pizza Oven - DriverHeaven.net

  • I am waiting to see this on Instructables.

  • I am waiting to see this on Instructables.

  • I am waiting to see this on Instructables.

  • What about the fixed income disabled, elderly and general poor women men and children in the US, who will have to choose this winter between heat or food. Every year people die from poverty in the USA and it gets worse every year…In the US, you can teach someone how to fish, even loan them a pole or teach them how to make their own pole, but unless they have almost 10.00 a day to pay for a day fishing pass, a way to make it to the lake, a place to cook food and refrigerate it they risk being jailed for illegal fishing, fire building, living on public land, etc…At least in many 3rd world countries they can still squat, build a shack and a fire…USA poor are cornered, for death or jail, something like this that gave free instructions, could help the poor in the US, survive winters, and summers…But no of course this is a five year marketing plan to the poor people in third world countries….Same old S__t! Big deal, I am sure the student got an A for her project…Now that the secret is out (Right) maybe someone else could let the rest of us in on it…

  • What about the fixed income disabled, elderly and general poor women men and children in the US, who will have to choose this winter between heat or food. Every year people die from poverty in the USA and it gets worse every year…In the US, you can teach someone how to fish, even loan them a pole or teach them how to make their own pole, but unless they have almost 10.00 a day to pay for a day fishing pass, a way to make it to the lake, a place to cook food and refrigerate it they risk being jailed for illegal fishing, fire building, living on public land, etc…At least in many 3rd world countries they can still squat, build a shack and a fire…USA poor are cornered, for death or jail, something like this that gave free instructions, could help the poor in the US, survive winters, and summers…But no of course this is a five year marketing plan to the poor people in third world countries….Same old S__t! Big deal, I am sure the student got an A for her project…Now that the secret is out (Right) maybe someone else could let the rest of us in on it…

  • S. Smith-

    Are you always so cheerful and positive, or did you just post this on a bad day?

    I used to be a miserable S.O.B. until I started to do for others. I feel much better now.

    Please pull your head out and do something good for yourself. Help somebody else do something. Take someone to the lake, build them a fire or maybe let them store some stuff in your fridge. Gosh, maybe you could let someone share your home for a while and really help them out.

    Have a great day. Stay safe, and may God bless. I wish you His peace.

    Dan

  • S. Smith-

    Are you always so cheerful and positive, or did you just post this on a bad day?

    I used to be a miserable S.O.B. until I started to do for others. I feel much better now.

    Please pull your head out and do something good for yourself. Help somebody else do something. Take someone to the lake, build them a fire or maybe let them store some stuff in your fridge. Gosh, maybe you could let someone share your home for a while and really help them out.

    Have a great day. Stay safe, and may God bless. I wish you His peace.

    Dan

  • Fresnel lens construction, parabolic reflector technologies, Passive Solar heat storage systems, super-insulations studies and applications to save the poorly energies America has naturally (no oil here-all gon out a V-8 pipe long ago) Look to the lowly under-educated Western Provinces, Canadians for and answer! The survive -40 degree temperatures for months at a time using massive straw bale walls for insulation and Solar for heat gathering! The have oil coming out their assholes but just happen to prefer clean solar! They compost, humanure, and bio-gass as Sewden and Norway do! Makes for leaner lakes! Imagine heating/cooling Straw Bale structures! Air conditioning practically free! Heating in winter – same story – Practically free! Bio-gas heating in winter? from Shiite? for free? no oil well to go dry? Smart bastards those primitive Canadians! Watch out nest they’ll legalize hemp and sell that here too! For a Profit! Goddammit! not fair! We outlawed the best fiber crop in the world to protect goddammit cotton, pulp trees for the Hurst empire! Were we sucked in? bet your fattened ass we were! Cheap solar cells that work and endure deserve an expose article! do it for us you got the power! Publish the Ph D’s work in a .pdf button here at this site before Corporatists bury it! Google, torrent the movie “:Who Killer the Electric Car” to see what I mean by that! Study this movie well, weep for America for a while then fight this with a vengeance! You can hardly help if you don’t know what the corporations are hiding from you!

  • Fresnel lens construction, parabolic reflector technologies, Passive Solar heat storage systems, super-insulations studies and applications to save the poorly energies America has naturally (no oil here-all gon out a V-8 pipe long ago) Look to the lowly under-educated Western Provinces, Canadians for and answer! The survive -40 degree temperatures for months at a time using massive straw bale walls for insulation and Solar for heat gathering! The have oil coming out their assholes but just happen to prefer clean solar! They compost, humanure, and bio-gass as Sewden and Norway do! Makes for leaner lakes! Imagine heating/cooling Straw Bale structures! Air conditioning practically free! Heating in winter – same story – Practically free! Bio-gas heating in winter? from Shiite? for free? no oil well to go dry? Smart bastards those primitive Canadians! Watch out nest they’ll legalize hemp and sell that here too! For a Profit! Goddammit! not fair! We outlawed the best fiber crop in the world to protect goddammit cotton, pulp trees for the Hurst empire! Were we sucked in? bet your fattened ass we were! Cheap solar cells that work and endure deserve an expose article! do it for us you got the power! Publish the Ph D’s work in a .pdf button here at this site before Corporatists bury it! Google, torrent the movie “:Who Killer the Electric Car” to see what I mean by that! Study this movie well, weep for America for a while then fight this with a vengeance! You can hardly help if you don’t know what the corporations are hiding from you!

  • Fresnel lens construction, parabolic reflector technologies, Passive Solar heat storage systems, super-insulations studies and applications to save the poorly energies America has naturally (no oil here-all gon out a V-8 pipe long ago) Look to the lowly under-educated Western Provinces, Canadians for and answer! The survive -40 degree temperatures for months at a time using massive straw bale walls for insulation and Solar for heat gathering! The have oil coming out their assholes but just happen to prefer clean solar! They compost, humanure, and bio-gass as Sewden and Norway do! Makes for leaner lakes! Imagine heating/cooling Straw Bale structures! Air conditioning practically free! Heating in winter – same story – Practically free! Bio-gas heating in winter? from Shiite? for free? no oil well to go dry? Smart bastards those primitive Canadians! Watch out nest they’ll legalize hemp and sell that here too! For a Profit! Goddammit! not fair! We outlawed the best fiber crop in the world to protect goddammit cotton, pulp trees for the Hurst empire! Were we sucked in? bet your fattened ass we were! Cheap solar cells that work and endure deserve an expose article! do it for us you got the power! Publish the Ph D’s work in a .pdf button here at this site before Corporatists bury it! Google, torrent the movie “:Who Killer the Electric Car” to see what I mean by that! Study this movie well, weep for America for a while then fight this with a vengeance! You can hardly help if you don’t know what the corporations are hiding from you!

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