Euronews.green writes that the discovery belongs to a team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC), which managed to find an alternative to batteries that can maximize the production of photovoltaics. Lead researcher professor Kasper Moth-Poulsen said that "we are demonstrating that it is possible to increase efficiency and add storage to photovoltaic systems."

Moth-Poulsen worked at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg when he presented a device called MOST, which stands for molecular solar thermal energy system, which was proven to be able to store energy for as long as 18 years. The same energy storage solution was now combined with a solar silicon cell to store the power of the sun without the need of batteries. Instead, the solution uses more readily-available materials, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, which change shape when in contact with the sun rays.

Another big advantage this solution offers for photovoltaic systems is that it provides cooling for the panels, as well, meaning that the system's energy capture and production efficiency increases. So, theoretically, more energy can be produced and it can also be stored, at the same time.

In a lab, the energy storage efficiency of this system was 2.3%, compared to the 1.1% found in other applications. "With further development, it may be possible to develop this technology as a retrofit upgrade to existing solar cell installations", the professor explains.