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Lunar Material-Based Solar Cells

Lunar Material-Based Solar Cells
World
Feb 2023

Solar panels are a great option when it comes to reducing the use of fossil fuels on earth and now Blue Origin has created a new version of cells that are made from lunar materials. The technique is dubbed 'Blue Alchemist' and it uses only lunar dust to create the photovoltaic panels.
The process includes smelting Moondust, which is also recognized as lunar regolith and then it turns the byproducts into solar cells. The company first created a substance that was similar to the way lunar dust looks before creating a reactor to "produce iron, silicon, and aluminum from molten regolith electrolysis." After this, sunlight is then used to purify the silicon gathered from the procedure to a purity of over 99.999%.

Image Credit: Blue Origin

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