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Students develop a sun-powered jacket

Swatches | April 1, 2023 | By:

In a program called “The Wardrobe of the Future,” students at Finland’s Aalto University are experimenting with the development of photovoltaics in garments. There are many smart textile and e-textile applications already widely used, but the sensors, devices and visual effects that are added into these products need a power source—and that typically comes from batteries. The Aalto University researchers believe that solar cells could make smart textiles energy autonomous. 

The logical way to integrate photovoltaics, the research team says, is to attach solar cells onto the front surface of a textile to ensure maximum energy harvesting. However, a black- or silver-colored solar cell on top of a garment compromises the look of it, to say the least. In Aalto’s multidisciplinary Sun-Powered Textiles project, the solution was to hide the solar cells underneath a textile layer. While the solar cell is hidden from view, it’s still producing enough energy to power wearable devices. Photo: Aalto University

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