Ingredient In Tofu And Bath-Salt To Make Solar Cells Cheaper

Magnesium Chloride, a material used in the manufacture of quintessentially common things like bath salts and tofu may be the material that makes thin-film solar cells cheaper and safer. Cadmium Chloride, a soluble and a highly toxic material which remains dangerous for manufacture and disposal and is also highly expensive to produce, is a principal component in the solar cells. A University of Liverpool researcher has found that Magnesium Chloride may be used as an alternative to Cadmium Chloride. It is equally effective and about 300 times cheaper than the toxic material.
Dr. John Major, a physicist from University of Liverpool's Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy stumbled upon the humble salt while exploring replacements for Cadmium Chloride. Magnesium Chloride is extracted from seawater and costs $0.001 per gram as compared to $0.3 per gram price of the Cadmium salt. The cheapest solar cells are based on a thin film of insoluble Cadmium Telluride. Application of Cadmium Chloride increases their efficiency from 2 percent up to 15 percent.

Magnesium Chloride has shown to be as effective as Cadmium Chloride. Dr. Major created solar cells on a bench using a simple spray gun. This is in a stark contrast to the method used for Cadmium Chloride coating which requires a lab with a fume hood.
Although having just 5% market share, thin-film solar cells are better than traditional PV panels since they are lighter in weight, provide lower wind resistance and (limited) resistance to foot traffic but are expensive to produce primarily due to high cost of Cadmium Chloride. Echoing a thought agreed upon by the almost everyone in the solar energy sector, Dr. Major said that the costs of solar energy equipment need to be cut down if it has to compete against fossil fuels.

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