In 2022, we wrote an article titled Opinion: Plastic is a Scapegoat for the Climate Crisis – but the Two are Linked. We opened it with this:
The climate crisis is a fatal car crash, happening in slow motion.
The Earth is the car, and we are driving. We can see the brick wall of a 1.5ºC global temperature rise, dead ahead. But instead of putting on the brakes, or changing direction – the accelerator is planted to the floor. Humanity is asleep at the wheel, and within as little as five years, we’ll hit that 1.5ºC brick wall at maximum speed.
Well, we haven’t slowed down one bit. 2023 was the warmest year ever, since records began in 1850. Despite climate protests and activism (much of which has been poorly received by the public), we’re rocket-boosting our way into the record books for global warming.
In February 2024, it was confirmed that the 12-month period ending in January exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level. This was the first time in history that the world had exceeded its annual warming limit consecutively – and January 2024 was also the warmest month on record globally.
“But nothing’s changed!”, we hear you cry. “The world hasn’t set on fire!”
Only, it sort of has.
The wildfires, the storms – the utter chaos brought on by rapid climate change is yet to be fully felt by the most sceptical nations. The bushfires, hurricanes and landslides are, as usual, “somebody else’s problem”. The UK gets a heatwave and a headline, an amber weather warning and localised flooding. “It’ll never happen here”.
But it won’t be long until the effects are truly global. We’re looking at food insecurity, community displacement, mass extinction and ecosystem collapse on a scale we can’t really fathom as we sit in comfort, scrolling and sipping our way through life.
By the time it arrives on our doorstep, it’ll be far too late to do anything about it.
Is there any good news in all of this? Well, maybe there’s a shred of hope if we (businesses, engineers, governments and technologists) can all band together and do what’s right; reduce our CO2 to a sustainable level through clean power and reclaiming useful methane from farming and agriculture.
And one of the key ways of doing this is with solar energy. For too long, solar panels have been expensive, hard to make, inefficient, heavy – and their manufacture has almost offset their benefit. That could all be about to change, thanks to our old friend polythene.
Solar power – with polythene?
Polythene film has emerged as a key material in the solar energy sector, and not only for packaging. Polythene is now a component in solar panels thanks to its flexibility, durability and ability to withstand extreme environments with the right additives. And innovation in the field is amplifying. Soon, we could have the first “photovoltaic modules on a roll” – solar panel sheeting, printed onto a polymer, ready to deploy on practically any surface…
But how’s it being used right now?
Polythene in solar panel packaging and components
In solar panel production, polythene is widely used for packaging. It’s moisture resistant and highly protective, keeping modules free of dust – and antistatic additives protect electronics.
Polythene film is also used as a component within the panels themselves. It can be used as a protective layer over the photovoltaic cells, shielding them from the environment and acting as a substrate for the glass and back panels.
Learn more about polythene as a component
Polythene is now vital in industrial applications, and renewable energy is no different. The use of polythene film in solar panels contributes to more durable and cost-efficient components, which is essential for growth and innovation within the solar power industry. It also means that recycled material could finally become valuable, as it can be harvested for use in solar power generation – and a truly circular economy could be unlocked.
Printable solar panels: the future of polythene solar tech
In September 2023, a research paper titled “Flexible structural polyethylene films for dynamically tunable energy harvesting from the sun and outer space” was released. And within it, some tantalising technology was proposed.
A collaborative team of scientists across multiple universities on China found that polythene films “demonstrate an asymmetric electromagnetic transmission with forward/backward transmittance ratios of 2.61 and 1.67 in both solar irradiance and long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectral ranges, enabling it to work as a multispectral self-adaptive window (MSW).”
What that basically means is that polythene film can be tuned to harvest energy from the sun and from space. It’s more complicated than that, though – involving microstructures that use polythene’s already impressive natural properties as a greenhouse material and amplifying them; letting some electromagnetic radiation in, but not all of it out.
And polythene could also become the base material for printable solar cells.
Researchers in Australia have been exploring the potential of printable solar panels, which could one day be printed on polythene film. These panels would be thin, flexible and lightweight, making them easy to produce and deploy. They’d also be cheaper and less wasteful at the end of their operational life.
This innovation could revolutionise the solar industry – allowing for rapid and cost-effective manufacturing of solar panels, even enabling their application on a wide range of surfaces; from car roofs to the backs of mobile phones. Anything could become solar powered with the application of a thin film.
The idea of printing solar panels out of polythene film is not just a concept anymore.
We’re making strides towards more accessible and versatile solar energy solutions; and not a moment too soon. The world is crying out for innovation and accessibility to clean power, and this polythene-based technology could significantly reduce the cost of solar panel production, while improving the ease of deployment.
We have the promise of transforming the way we harness solar energy – and with that, the hope that we can act to turn global warming around.
We don’t know how many more chances we’re going to get.
Polythene for the renewable energy sector
Talk to the polythene experts at NPF Packaging – and design your own polythene for packaging or componentry. Get a quote now, or call us on 01773 820415 to find out more about our manufacturing and design process.
