Brilliant Matters and HeiQ develop semi-transparent organic solar cells

A collaboration between Canadian developer Brilliant Matters, Swiss materials company HeiQ, and Germany’s Forschungszentrum Jülich has developed semi-transparent organic solar cells. The technology achieved power conversion efficiencies of up to 12.04% for prototype cells, while fully printed modules reached a maximum efficiency of 10.2%.

The development utilizes Brilliant Matters’ BM10 organic photovoltaic platform combined with HeiQ’s Xpectra silver nanowire electrodes. These components were integrated into flexible, semi-transparent modules by the Solar Factory research group, demonstrating compatibility with roll-to-roll processing. The technology is targeted for commercial availability by 2028, with projected costs under $150 per square meter.