A solar cell that resembles a flower offers a new take on “green” energy in Japan, where one scientist is searching for renewables that look good.
In a country badly scarred by the earthquake and tsunami-sparked disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant three years ago, the hydrangea-inspired solar offering might seem insignificant alongside one of the world’s biggest offshore wind power farms now off Japan’s east coast, but Hiroshi Segawa, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, is hoping his dye-sensitized solar cell, which meshes floral beauty with cutting-edge technology, will brighten the scene.
Segawa’s Annabelle, named after a type of white hydrangea, is made up of flowery stained glass-like solar cells built into a latticed wood box modeled on traditional Japanese doors.
Photo: AFP
While the 20cm-wide box might make a pretty addition to a sunroom, it can also store enough energy to charge your smartphone twice. The leaves generate electricity that is then stored in the flower. As the device charges, the petals turn increasingly blue. However, as Annabelle discharges, those blue petals turn white, just like a real-life hydrangea.
“People do not have a very good image about things related to energy, such as nuclear power,” Segawa told reporters. “Thermal power generation conjures up images of blistering hot dirty coal, while solar panels take up a lot of space. Even wind power generation has problems with bird strikes and noise, but [Annabelle] does not harm the environment.”
While Segawa is not expecting to topple the dominant silicon-based solar panels, he is hoping the fast-growing sector has room for “enjoyable energy” that adds a splash of color to an otherwise drab industry.
Since the disaster in 2011, Japan has been pushing to boost the use of alternative sources of energy.
The country’s solar power generation is rapidly growing, but it still only represents a small share of the overall power mix.
In Japan, the share of power generated from renewable sources, excluding hydropower, lags behind other developed economies at 4.7 percent of the total, far less than 10.4 percent in Britain or the 20.1 percent in Germany, according to data from the International Energy Agency.
Japan’s nuclear plants were shuttered after the 2011 atomic accident — yanking away a power source that once supplied more than one-quarter of the nation’s energy.
Despite Tokyo’s efforts to develop the solar sector, the weather — particularly a lack of reliable sunlight — is among the factors holding back wider use. However, Segawa says Annabelle works even in weak indoor light. It also has a myriad of design possibilities. Segawa has already experimented with a cell that looks like French President Francois Hollande and one resembling the computer-generated Japanese pop star Hatsune Miku.
“You can make solar cells out of animated characters, portraits of real people and lots of other stuff,” he said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
DIVERSIFYING: Following customers’ demand to improve supply chain resilience, ASE is looking for sites in the US, Japan and Mexico, a company executive said ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it plans to launch a new high-end chip testing fab in the US next month to better serve its key customers based in North America, particularly California-based artificial intelligence (AI) customers. The new US testing facility would be operated by the firm’s subsidiary ISE Labs Inc, it said. ASE’s major customers, and high-ranking US officials and representatives from American Institute in Taiwan are to attend the fab’s opening ceremony on July 12, it said. ISE Labs last year acquired a 5,942m2 facility in San
Local companies believe that nearly a third of all job opportunities will vanish in 10 years due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey released by online job bank yes123 on Tuesday. In the survey of 1,016 companies on the labor market’s third quarter outlook, the job bank focused in part on AI’s impact on workers and asked companies what percentage of jobs they felt would be lost to AI’s round-the-clock productivity and high-speed computing prowess. Respondents felt on average that 29.2 percent of job opportunities would be lost to AI over the next 10 years, but there
Taiwanese workers earned an average of NT$47,000 per month this year, but 40 percent are struggling financially and 18 percent plan to switch jobs within 12 months, two separate surveys showed yesterday. The amount equals a 5.4 percent increase from a year earlier to a decade high, 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) said. The government is due to review the nation’s minimum wages. Employees at computer and consumer electronics manufacturers reported the highest average monthly wage of NT$60,000 a month, followed by semiconductor firms at NT$59,000, and vendors of shoe and textile products, along with software and Internet businesses at NT$55,000, 104 Job