Further reading:
Konarka read all about the new power plastic.
NESEA read about the building green 2005 conference in Boston
Evident Technologies new quantum dot technologies.

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The company has raised an impressive amount of cash (well over 22$ million USD).  And as of yet have not released any products to the public market.  But they are ready to ship at the end of this year with their line of “power plastic” cell phone and PDA charging devices.  I was able to feel this stuff, and I can tell you it is much more flexible than traditional flexible solar cells.  It is also much lighter.  

The product is made in much the same way that photographic film is made.  It uses a cold press machine that combines the nano-scale levels together.  The whole thing is encased in the same kind of plastic used in soda pop bottles.  They can print it up to 3 meters wide and as long as they want.  This gives them a massive amount of flexibility.  It can also be printed with different colors. 

This would allow it to cover your roof and your neighbors would never know it because your cells would be printed with a shingle or tile pattern.  One of the most interesting things is that its product will actually gain energy from low light such as indoor lighting.  With the combination of Evident Technologies’ new quantum dot technology, their product is able to gain massive amounts of energy gain from low light conditions.

Konarka is also marketing its products to the US Army as a replacement for bulky battery packs that soldiers have to carry into battle.  It will also replace the tops of there tents so that they may gain power from the sun and be less reliant on supply chains that could come under enemy fire or be disrupted by road side bombs or terrorist attacks.   

If Konarka can produce what it has promised it offers a revolutionary new way to use solar energy.  Because its cells can be made at low temperatures using common materials, and at any size, its panels have the chance to be included “out of the box” for many devices with little cost increase.