Thad Druffel, theme leader for solar manufacturing R&D at the University of Louisville's Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, inspecting a printed roll of thin film solar cell material.
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville has won a $1 million grant for researching the manufacture of thin solar panels by repurposing printing presses.
The university says in a release that the goal is to reduce the cost of producing solar panels. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office.
The project at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research will focus on thin film solar cell production using a roll-to-roll platform, the same used to print newspapers.
Thad Druffel, who is leading the research at the Conn Center, says the technology can revitalize a declining printing industry and boost a growing solar industry.
