SunCrafter’s idea of turning end-of-life PV modules into hand sanitizers has won the ESA-backed hackathon and now the team working to rapidly roll out the solution at scale to contain the Covid-19 spread. Winning the ESA-backed hackathon means that they will receive €20.000 to scale the idea further.
They developed a response to the Covid-19 outbreak by turning disused PV modules into hand sanitizers. The modules still generate enough electricity to power unique ultraviolet lamps that produce light at wavelengths that kill germs, including the coronavirus.
The inventors state that the light remains safe for skin and eye contact. The modules are taken from commercial arrays that have reached end-of-life status. This technology could be used in field hospitals, refugee camps and urban slums in countries with poor energy supplies, as well as in public spaces in the global north.
SunCrafter is already well-seasoned in the handling of end-of-life modules. Headquartered at the Siemens innovation campus in Berlin, the startup collects modules from end-of-life commercial arrays and repurposes them to power remote communities.
This is a Syndicate News-Feed edited by Clean-Future Team