The Solar Print Project
General presentation of the project
SOLAR-PRINT will develop a technology to produce, on an industrial scale, large-area polymeric solar cells which are lightweight, cheap and easy to integrate, thanks to a continuous “Roll-to-Roll” printing technique.
Photovoltaic modules produced by means of this technology, based on solution-processable organic semiconductors, will have a competitive cost, down to half of the commercial silicon solar cells now on the market, and they will be “green” thanks to a lower energy consumption needed for their fabrication, to a shorter payback time and to a lower production of equivalent green-house gases.
This technology will allow the fabrication of flexible solar cells on a plastic substrate, in the shape of long ribbons, colored and semi-transparent, paving the way to novel applications, and markets, which are innovative, and at the same time alternative with respect to silicon ones.
The focus of SOLAR-PRINT is technology development and consequent commercial exploitation.
On the short term this will lead to the production of portable, wearable, flexible solar cells for distributed energy generation. On the long term our solar cells will give birth to a new type of functionalized lightweight cover, employed in tensile structures from camping tents, emergency camps, up to mega-structures like stadiums, forums and alike buildings.
Examples of
Mountain applications.
IIT and OMET
The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) is a foundation established jointly by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance to promote excellence in basic and applied research and to contribute to the economic development of Italy. The primary goals of the IIT are the creation and dissemination of scientific knowledge as well as the strengthening of Italy's technological competitiveness. To achieve these two goals, the IIT will cooperate with both academic institutions and private organizations, fostering through these partnerships scientific development, technological advances and training in high technology.
OMET S.r.l. is a leading company designing and producing high-technology equipment and lines to print and fold tissue paper products, self adhesive labels and flexible packaging. Marked by a strong international mission, Omet draws heavily on its rich heritage. The professional excellence that has distinguished Omet since the beginning has consolidated itself throughout forty years of activity, taking the company to success at the highest market levels.
