From: fungus@amongus.com.invalid   
      
   From the «a country that believes in science» department:   
   Title: Japan Bets Big on Ultrathin, Ultralight Solar Panels   
   Author: admin@soylentnews.org   
   Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2025 11:47:00 +0000   
   Link: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=25/07/26/0330200&from=rss   
      
   fliptop[1] writes:   
      
   From the Crystal Palace at London 1851, the telephone at Philadelphia 1876 to   
   the escalator at Paris 1900, the World Expo has always showcased innovations   
   and cutting-edge technologies of the time. At the ongoing Expo 2025 Osaka, host   
   country Japan is promoting its latest technology at an unlikely spot; the bus   
   terminal outside the main venue[2]:   
      
   When visitors arrive at the Yumeshima Transportation Terminal 1, they will   
   see more than 250 panels of ultrathin, lightweight "perovskite" solar cells   
   forming the curved roof of the 250-meter-long terminal. These film-like solar   
   panels, Japan hopes, will be the killer technology that not only grants the   
   country more renewable power and reduces its dependency on China, but also   
   gives it the chance to be the leader in the next generation of solar battery   
   technology.   
      
   As reported at ZeroHedge[3]:   
      
   Perovskite solar cells, discovered in 2009, are made from layers of chemicals   
   just millimeters thick. Though still in early development, they rival   
   traditional silicon-based panels in efficiency while being 20 times thinner   
   and 10 times lighter, allowing installation on walls, rooftops, and even   
   windows—places unsuitable for heavy panels.   
      
   "We believe this technology has the potential to beat the conventional   
   silicon-based solar panels in terms of power generation efficiency," said   
   Futoshi Kamiwaki, president of Sekisui Solarfilm, which developed the panels   
   showcased at the Expo.   
      
   Japan, with limited flat land, leads major nations in solar capacity per km^2   
   but is running out of space. Installing perovskite cells on buildings could   
   turn cities into vertical solar farms, helping Tokyo meet its 2040 goal: 29%   
   of power from solar, up from under 10% today.   
      
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
      
   Original Submission[4]   
      
   Read more of this story[5] at SoylentNews.   
      
   Links:   
   [1]: https://soylentnews.org/~fliptop/ (link)   
   [2]: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Tech-Asia/Japan   
   bets-big-on-ultrathin-ultralight-solar-panels (link)   
   [3]: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/japan-bets-film-panels-re   
   laim-solar-leadership-expo-2025 (link)   
   [4]: https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsubsubid=66267 (link)   
   [5]: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=25/07/26/0330200&from=rss (link)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)