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Electricity on the moon

10.02.2022

Katrin Kristmann, a doctoral student at the Department of Chemistry and Materials Science at TalTech (Tallinn University of Technology), has started research aimed at developing a technology for manufacturing monograin solar cells on the Moon.

The results of the research activities are planned to be used to provide electricity to future lunar outposts of the European Space Agency (ESA) and its international partners. A lunar outpost is planned to be established at the Moon's South Pole in the coming decades.

The sandpaper-like solar cell is based on the monograin powder technology developed by TalTech researchers, where the solar cell consists of thousands of small 50 micrometer diameter crystals embedded in a polymer in one continuous layer.

Microcrystals absorb sunlight. To transmit solar energy, these microcrystals are covered with buffer and window layers. Thus, each crystal works like a small individual solar panel and generates electricity.

This type of solar cell has many advantages, combining the advantages of a high-efficiency single-crystal material with low-cost production of roll-to-roll panels, which allows the production of flexible, lightweight and cost-effective solar panels to cover large areas at minimal cost.

There are no restrictions on the size and shape of solar modules. The microcrystals used in a monograin solar cell can be obtained from elements found in the soil or regolith of the Moon.

A potential material for microcrystals could be pyrite FeS2, or, in other words, "fool's gold". Its elements, iron and sulfur, are quite common in the lunar regolith, and the theoretical efficiency of a pyrite solar cell is as high as 25%.

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