For decades, solar power has largely meant one thing: rigid silicon panels fixed to rooftops or spread across vast solar farms. Japan is pursuing a very different idea. Instead of heavy glass modules, researchers and manufacturers are developing ultra-thin, flexible solar cells that can be produced using high-speed printing techniques similar to those used for newspapers. The result is a technology that could one day wrap around buildings, vehicles, windows and even clothing, quietly generating electricity from surfaces that have never before been considered energy assets.
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