For solar energy to be really practical, it is important to find a way to store it effectively. Energy from large solar plants can be stored through pumped hydropower systems, in batteries or even in porous rocks. For small-scale applications, however, batteries seem like the only viable option. Or maybe it is possible to combine a solar cell and a battery in a single device. A UW-Madison electrical engineer has proposed a design for dye-sensitized solar cells that can at the same time generate power and work as a solar energy storage system. Read more »
