New Salt Promises Increased Efficiency and Decreased Health Risk for Solar Industry

The solar energy industry has been revolutionized.  For years, the salt Cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) has been the main product used to thinly coat the outside solar panels in order to boost the panel’s efficiency for converting light into energy.  Cadmium chloride has many adverse health risks.  Contact with the Cadmium has been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease.  Because of this, scientists from the University of Liverpool set out to find a feasible alternative to the dangerous salt.  Through their research, they found that a similar salt, Magnesium chloride (MgCl₂), was not only a far safer substance, it was also as efficient, if not more efficient, than the toxic Cadmium chloride.  Magnesium chloride also costs up to 300 times less than Cadmium chloride, which some believe will increase savings by approximately 15%, if not more.  With cheaper chemical costs, and no need for the expensive safety equipment used to apply Cadmium chloride, the solar industry can expect to see a large decrease in production costs, which will translate to an increased use of alternative solar energy for people everywhere.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cheaper-solar-cells-with-a-new-salt/

Submitted by Anthony Wetzel