Although no specific details are given, from an article published in Science Daily it seems that prof. Pavlos Lagoudakis at the University of Southampton has developed a new method of converting light into electricity using a process found in green plants’ photosynthesis.
They already developed photovoltaic devices that they say are more efficient than previous models. Prof. Lagoudakis says: “We looked at the ways that energy is funnelled in nature and through reverse engineering, using multiple nanoscale components, we designed and fabricated a hybrid photovoltaic device that can absorb light and efficiently convert it to electric current. These are early days but the possibilities for the application of this technology for environmentally-friendly energy production are very exciting.”
All we know for now is that the Southampton scientists are using nanotechnology to build components that mimic the natural cycle of light to energy conversion.
