Supercharging Solar Energy Capture With Quantum Dots

Nanotechnology is making waves in the clean-tech space—and could give the U.S. a rare lead over China in photovoltaic innovation

Excerpt: "Quantum dots measure just a few nanometers in size. That’s 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. Often described as man-made atoms, these nanocrystals have been illuminating television screens for a decade. Now they could be about to light up the U.S. solar industry.

Arizona-based solar-tech company First Solar on Wednesday unveiled a long-term commercial partnership with New Mexico-based advanced-materials company UbiQD, to accelerate the integration of quantum dots into its solar panels. The deal marks the biggest move yet to scale the technology within the U.S. renewables sector.

Quantum dots are microscopic spheres of semiconductor material that could potentially double the efficiency of devices converting sunlight into energy, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The next-generation solar technology captures a wider spectrum of sunlight than traditional panels, using what is known as the quantum confinement effect—essentially wringing more energy out of each photon. 

Researchers have long theorized on the potential of quantum dots for the energy transition. To date their most common commercial use has been in televisions, allowing for more vibrant and lifelike colors. The Q in QLED, seen on many of today’s TVs, stands for quantum dot. In 2023, a trio of scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for bringing decades of theory on quantum dots into practice, paving the way for their mass production."