In the year 2010 a scientist named Michael Grätzel won the Millennium Technology Prize for his invention of the Grätzel cell. First invented in 1991, the Grätzel cell is a type of thin-film solar cell whose technology is based on photosynthesis. The cell consists of a permeable film of titanium dioxide nanoparticles that are coated with a molecular dye that is able to absorb sunlight. Grätzel cells are far cheaper and easier to manufacture than any of the different types of photovoltaic silicon-based cells, and as an additional advantage can be made in a number of different colors and even made translucent, opening the way for them to be used in buildings as glass fascias or windows.
We will see a huge expansion in the use and number of traditional silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) cells in the near future. It is already becoming mandatory for some new buildings to be equipped with solar products. In Hawaii, it is now mandatory for all new homes to incorporate a solar water heater, and the California Energy Commission has taken the initiative in a statewide solar program to incorporate solar electric panels into new homes. Any extra power generated by these homes is sold back to the state.
There is a jellyfish that is found off the west coast of North America that glows in the dark. Scientists claim that by liquidizing it they can make use of the green fluorescent protein that it contains (GFP) to create miniature fuel cells. These would be used in nanotechnology in minute devices that could operate within the human body completely independently, fighting tumors, reversing blindness and for many other nano-applications. This type of medical technology is seen as being the future of medicine. Placing a drop of GFP between two aluminum electrodes and applying an ultraviolet light has been shown to produce an electric current.
More and more solar power stations will be built in the future. The most common is likely to be the solar trough. Parabolic mirrors concentrate the sun's energy onto a pipe containing oil, which is heated to close to 400 degrees Celsius. The oil is pumped through a heat exchanger in which water is converted to steam, which drives a steam turbine to generate electricity. A similar system is the solar tower in which hundreds of mirrors concentrate the sun's energy onto a receiver on top of a high tower. The receiving fluid is pumped through a heat exchanger which converts water to steam.