University Research

Decarbonization Avenue University research @ CLIMAX

New solar absorber could improve efficiency of solar thermal technology

Objective/theme

A team of researchers discovered a low-cost way to significantly increase the amount of solar energy that can be converted into heat, via a device called a solar absorber.

Process & benefits

The research team has developed a simple and cost-effective fabrication technique to create solar absorbers that can harness a greater share of the solar spectrum, thus increasing their efficiencies, while also maintaining low emission levels.

This idea can be applied to most conventional solar absorbers. With this unique patterning, the absorbers can be boosted to harvest more solar energy from the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.