SolaGro Information

Silicon solar cells use near-ultraviolet light poorly. High-energy photons are converted inefficiently, and prolonged ultraviolet exposure ages the polymers in the module. SolaGro makes a luminescent polymer film that shifts that ultraviolet into wavelengths where the cell responds more strongly. The film works on any silicon panel, applied at the factory or fitted to installations already in the field: it reaches the three terawatts already installed, something no cell-level improvement can do. The emitter is an ortho-aminobenzoic-acid-derived Guerbet surfactant luminophore, formulated in a transparent PMMA film. It carries no heavy metal and no rare earth, it is built from conventional feedstocks, and it is processed as ordinary polymer film rather than by exotic deposition. Measured increase in module output is up to 12% relative, under a calibrated solar simulator against untreated controls. SolaGro is being prepared as a proposed spinout from research at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, led by Dr Frans Smit in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. The platform is protected by South African priority filings and three PCT applications in national-phase prosecution, held by North-West University and covering the compounds, their synthesis and their integration.