The sun offers an endless source of energy but solar technology is being held back by manufacturing limitations, says Dutch scientist and professor Wim C Sinke in this interview.
Speaking to Dezeen as part of our Solar Revolution series, Sinke said that the embodied carbon involved in producing solar products is currently a barrier to scaling up the technology.
"It is a process that requires a lot of energy"
"There is no limitation [to solar power] if you do everything perfectly ? if you use the right materials and introduce circular technology," he said.
"But we're not successful in that, so there are limitations, especially if we want to expand the sector rapidly."
Until his retirement in May 2022, Sinke was principal scientist at Dutch research organisation TNO and a professor of photovoltaic energy conversion at the University of Amsterdam. He spoke to Dezeen following a presentation during The Solar Seminar, a solar-design conference that took place at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam on 9 September as part of The Solar Biennale.
The scientist said that the energy and materials required for manufacturing solar cells is one of the biggest obstacles in the ambition to increase production of solar energy.
Wim C Sinke presented his research into solar energy at The Solar Seminar, which took place at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam
The majority of photovoltaic cells are made from silicon ? a material that is abundant in the Earth's crus...