
Japan sees bright future for ultra-thin, flexible solar panels
is heavily investing in a new kind of ultra-thin,
flexible solar panel
that it hopes will help it meet
renewable energy
goals while challenging China's dominance of the sector.
Pliable perovskite panels are perfect for mountainous Japan, with its shortage of flat plots for traditional solar farms, and a key component of the panels is iodine, something Japan produces more of than any country but Chile.
The push faces some obstacles: perovskite panels contain toxic lead, and, for now, produce less power and have shorter lifespans than their silicon counterparts.
Still, with a goal of net-zero by 2050 and a desire to break China's solar supremacy, perovskite cells are "our best card to achieve both decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness," minister of industry Yoji Muto said in November.
"We need to succeed in their implementation in society at all costs," he said.
The government is offering generous incentives to get industry on board, including a 157-billion-yen ($1 billion) subsidy to plastic maker Sekisui Chemical for a factory to produce enough perovskite
solar panels
to generate 100 megawatts by 2027, enough to power 30,000 households.
By 2040, Japan wants to install enough perovskite panels to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to adding about 20 nuclear reactors.
That should help Japan's target to have renewable energy cover up to 50 percent of
electricity demand
by 2040.
Breaking the silicon ceiling
The nation is looking to solar power, including perovskite and silicon-based solar cells, to cover up to 29 percent of all electricity demand by that time, a sharp rise from 9.8 percent in 2023.
"To increase the amount of renewable energy and achieve
carbon neutrality
, I think we will have to mobilise all the technologies available," said Hiroshi Segawa, a specialist in next-generation solar technology at the University of
Tokyo
.
"Perovskite solar panels can be built domestically, from the raw materials to production to installation. In that sense, they could significantly contribute to things like energy security and economic security," he told AFP.
Tokyo wants to avoid a repeat of the past boom and bust of the Japanese solar business.
In the early 2000s, Japanese-made silicon solar panels accounted for almost half the global market.
Now, China controls more than 80 percent of the global solar
supply chain
, from the production of key raw material to assembling modules.
Silicon solar panels are made of thin wafers that are processed into cells that generate electricity.
They must be protected by reinforced glass sheets and metal frames, making the final products heavy and cumbersome.
Perovskite solar cells, however, are created by printing or painting ingredients such as iodine and lead onto surfaces like film or sheet glass.
The final product can be just a millimetre thick and a tenth the weight of a conventional silicon solar cell.
Perovskite panels' malleability means they can be installed on uneven and curved surfaces, a key feature in Japan, where 70 percent of the country is mountainous.
Generating where power is used
The panels are already being incorporated into several projects, including a 46-storey Tokyo building to be completed by 2028.
The southwestern city of Fukuoka has also said it wants to cover a domed baseball stadium with perovskite panels.
And major electronics brand
Panasonic
is working on integrating perovskite into windowpanes.
"What if all of these windows had solar cells integrated in them?" said Yukihiro Kaneko, general manager of Panasonic's perovskite PV development department, gesturing to the glass-covered high-rise buildings surrounding the firm's Tokyo office.
That would allow power to be generated where it is used, and reduce the burden on the national grid, Kaneko added.
For all the enthusiasm, perovskite panels remain far from mass production.
They are less efficient than their silicon counterparts, and have a lifespan of just a decade, compared to 30 years for conventional units.
The toxic lead they contain also means they need careful disposal after use.
However, the technology is advancing fast. Some prototypes can perform nearly as powerfully as silicon panels and their durability is expected to reach 20 years soon.
University professor Segawa believes Japan could have a capacity of 40 gigawatts from perovskite by 2040, while the technology could also speed up renewable uptake elsewhere.
"We should not think of it as either silicon or perovskite. We should look at how we can maximise our ability to utilise renewable energy," Segawa said.
"If Japan could show a good model, I think it can be brought overseas."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NDTV
14 minutes ago
- NDTV
US-Based Women-Only App 'Tea' Hacked, 72,000 Pictures Leaked Online
An American app that lets women share "red flags" or feedback about men they have dated called "Tea" confirmed Friday that hackers had accessed some 72,000 images including user IDs. A preliminary investigation indicated hackers early Friday accessed a "legacy" storage system holding images uploaded by users who signed up before February of last year, a Tea spokeswoman told AFP. Stolen pictures included some 13,000 selfies or images featuring photo identification submitted to verify Tea accounts, according to the spokeswoman. The rest of the pictures were from posts, comments or messages publicly viewable in the app, the company said. No email address or phone number data was accessed, according to Tea. Tea's website boasts a "sisterhood" of more than 1.6 million women who can share dating advice and experiences anonymously on the platform. The app has attracted interest and triggered controversy with its promise to help women avoid problematic men and get intel on dating prospects. Critics point out privacy risks of date reviews that include photos and names, while fans tout the potential for women to avoid manipulative, dishonest, or violent encounters. Tea became the top free app in the Lifestyle category in Apple's App Store this week after it went viral on social media. Copies of ID card photos swiped from Tea were posted Friday on 4Chan, an online forum known for "incel" culture and rampant misinformation, according to screenshots shared on Reddit and other sites. The security breach, involving images of IDs like driver licenses, exposes victims to the risk of stalking or identity theft, according to Trey Ford, head of security at cybersecurity company Bugcrowd. "Connecting usernames to actual legal names and home addresses exposes these women to a variety of concerns," Ford told AFP. "Identity theft is only the tip of this iceberg."


Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
What UN meet amid grave tragedy in Gaza aims to achieve, and what it might
The ongoing mass starvation of Gazans amid Israeli military action may finally prove to be enough for the global community at the level of the United Nations to push again for a two-state solution. Palestinians at a tent camp next to buildings destroyed in Israeli military operations in Gaza City, July 25.(AP) Israel and its biggest backer, the US, are expected to be absent at the July 28-30 UN conference in New York, where France plans to recognise Palestinian statehood as over 100 countries attend. Talks for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, however, have hit a wall after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiators. They have alleged that Hamas has set unreasonable conditions. In that light, the UN conference, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, is a response to the crisis. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several dozen ministers from around the world are expected to attend, AFP reported. Israel clearing Gaza Israeli bulldozers have, nonetheless, been clearing the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings in Gaza — homes, hospitals, schools, offices — as the ideas of Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, of developing a 'waterfront property' and a 'resort-like city', take shape. Trump has grown more blunt in his calls for Israel to 'finish the job'. Also read | Palestinians stare at 'die hungry or leave territory' as Gaza starvation peaks After more than 21 months of the latest war in Gaza, which began as retaliation to an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel is speaking of shifting all of Gaza's population into a 'humanitarian city'. Some analysts see that as a potential concentration camp. Israel's settlements continue to expand in the West Bank, the other major Palestinian territory, too. Its officials have stated designs to annex more of the occupied territory. A Palestinian state, thus, looks geographically impossible. Also read | Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will take 'full control' of Gaza But French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement, that his country will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September, "will breathe new life into [the UN] conference that seemed destined to irrelevance," Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told news agency AFP. "Macron's announcement changes the game. Other participants will be scrabbling to decide if they should also declare an intent to recognise Palestine," he felt. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states — already including France — now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states — one Jewish and the other Arab. But subsequent wars and annexations have meant Israel now controls almost all of the territory. 'No alternative': Back to a two-state solution After the latest war having reportedly claimed over 50,000 lives, and protests over the West's military support to Israel growing, a two-state solution is 'more threatened than it has ever been', said a French diplomatic source to AFP. "But it's even more necessary than before, because we see very clearly that there is no alternative," the source added. The three-day New York meeting is hoping to facilitate conditions for even wider recognition of a Palestinian state. Plus, it has three other focuses: reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states that have not yet done so. The UK, however, has said it would not recognise a Palestinian state unilaterally and would wait for 'a wider plan'. Germany has no such plans either. 'Very fierce criticism of Israel' is expected, though, at the meet, said analyst Gowan. The conference "offers a unique opportunity to transform international law and the international consensus into an achievable plan and to demonstrate resolve to end the occupation and conflict once and for all, for the benefit of all peoples," said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, calling for "courage" from participants. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has dismissed the plan, 'This conference […] doesn't first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages.' (With AFP inputs)


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Who is Sarah Rockwell? Alachua Schools' board chair under fire for celebrating Hulk Hogan's death
Sarah Rockwell, the chair of the Alachua County School Board in Florida, is under fire for a comment she made on Hulk Hogan's passing on Thursday, July 24. In a comment on a Facebook post, Rockwell, on being informed by another user about Hogan's passing, reacted, saying: "Good. One less MAGA in the world." Sarah Rockwell (L. Source: Sarah Rockwell on Facebook) and Hulk Hogan (R, Source: AFP). (Facebook and AFP) Since the comments were made, they have been screenshotted and made viral on social media by those associated with Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Hogan, who passed away from cardiac arrest at his home in Florida, was a staunch supporter of the MAGA movement. After his death, Trump paid tribute to 'Hulkster' and said was "MAGA all the way." However, Rockwell's comment about Hulk Hogan's death sparked backlash, especially within the MAGA camp. In another comment, she said that Hogan "has never been a good guy." 'He worked with the McMahons to union-bust professional wrestling. he's never been a good guy. I feel absolutely nothing about his death.' Who is Sarah Rockwell? Rockwell, the current chair of the Alachua County School Board in Florida, holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in Special Education from the University of Florida, with a focus on early childhood special education, reading disabilities, and autism. Also read: Hulk Hogan tribute: WWE, Triple H present beautiful video at SmackDown; fans in tears She ran a campaign for the Alachua County School Board District 3, and the official WordPress blog of the campaign, she revealed that she is the mother of two children with disability and knows about the "difficult decisions parents have had to make during the last two years, especially families that had additional challenges before the pandemic."