“Lamp light powers electronic devices”... Korea University paves the way for commercializing battery-free “indoor solar cells”

[Financial News] Korea University said on the 11th that a research team led by Professor Shim Jae-won of its School of Electrical Engineering had presented key technologies and design principles for commercializing “next-generation indoor solar cells,” which generate electricity using indoor lighting such as fluorescent lamps and LEDs instead of sunlight. With a related paper published in the prestigious journal Nature, an era of Internet of Things (IoT) and smart-home devices that do not need their batteries replaced each time is expected to draw closer.
As the use of small electronic devices such as temperature and humidity sensors, wireless doorbells, and remote controls has surged in homes and factories, the cost and inconvenience of replacing and managing batteries have grown. Indoor solar cells are seen as a potential solution to this problem because they can convert indoor light into electricity to power electronic devices or significantly extend battery life.
However, indoor lighting is much weaker than sunlight, and its characteristics vary depending on the type of light source, making it difficult to use conventional outdoor solar-cell technologies as they are.
The research team focused on technologies that maintain a stable voltage even in weak light and prevent electricity from leaking out. The team confirmed that indoor solar cells using next-generation materials such as perovskite can achieve a high energy conversion efficiency of up to 45.5% under typical indoor lighting conditions.
The team also set out specific requirements for turning the technology into actual products and commercializing it, going beyond simply setting a new efficiency record. The requirements include not only efficient power generation but also manufacturing methods that lower factory production costs, reliability that allows the cells to operate for long periods without failure, and environmentally friendly safety standards to prevent the release of lead components in the materials or solvents.
The need for an integrated design with semiconductor chips that can efficiently manage and store electricity generated by the solar cells was also emphasized. If the research bears fruit, the many sensors and devices inside buildings could be operated semi-permanently without replacing their batteries.
Professor Shim Jae-won said, “For indoor solar cells to be used in actual industrial settings, we need to comprehensively address not only technical efficiency but also manufacturing costs, environmental regulations, and integration issues between devices.” He added, “The significance of this study is that it has established concrete technical guidance for translating laboratory-level results into actual commercial products.”

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter