From the BBC, September 25:
Imagine if you could put an ultra-thin, transparent solar sheet on your window to generate energy, not just from sunlight but also artificial lights from inside your room?
Seen as the most promising next-generation solar cell, this technology, called perovskite, is exactly what Japanese start-up Enecoat Technologies is trying to develop.
When ready, the Kyoto-based firm hopes its product will produce as much power as a regular solar panel of the same size.
"We are hoping to market them in three to four years," says the co-founder and chief executive of the company, Naoya Kato. "But to use them outdoors, we need to make them durable for any kind of weather conditions, so that will take longer."
But a successful product launch in this sector takes time. As a result, private venture capital funds that lend money to entrepreneurs may be more cautious to invest in them....Start-ups such as this are called "deep tech". They are small firms who are merging high-tech engineering innovation with scientific discovery. The hope is that it will lead to the development of transformational products.
