Nicole Kuepper has a dream. She wants to bring power and light to the 2 billion people in the world who lack electricity. She envisions enabling people to "read at night, keep informed about the world through radio and television and refrigerate life-saving vaccines".
"What started off as a brainstorming session has resulted in the iJET cell concept that uses low-cost and low-temperature processes, such as ink-jet printing and pizza ovens, to manufacture solar cells."The 23 year old PhD student won two Australian Museum Eureka Prizes - the nation's top science awards.
Nicole Kuepper
The processes she developed for the iJET solar cell don't require the very expensive clean rooms and high-temperature ovens of traditional solar panel manufacturing plants, but rather pizza ovens, nail polish and inkjet printers, making them accessible to developing countries.
While it could take five years to commercialise the patented technology, providing renewable energy to homes in some of the least developed countries would enable people to "read at night, keep informed about the world through radio and television and refrigerate life-saving vaccines". And it would also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Ms Kuepper said that the solar cells should be of high enough quality to be used anywhere in the world.
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