Japan will leverage flexible and ultra-lightweight solar panels to accelerate its transition to green energy, strengthen its competitiveness in the technology sector, and achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050. Japan’s decision to invest in ultra-thin, flexible, and lightweight solar panels is based on practicality: they can be installed on irregular or curved surfaces, making them ideal for the country’s mountainous terrain.
These flexible solar panels are made from a lightweight material called perovskite that makes them more adaptable than traditional silicon solar panels, which are most effective on flat surfaces. Additionally, Japan will also take advantage of a local resource, iodine, in the manufacture of these flexible solar panels. As Japan is the second-largest iodine producer in the world, it will be in control of a key component of its domestic solar panel supply chain.
According to Japanese Industry Minister Yoji Muto, flexible and ultra-lightweight solar panels present one of the best tools Japan has to decarbonize its economy and breathe new life into its once-prominent industrial complex despite the challenges involved in their manufacture. For instance, perovskite solar cells still haven’t matched the durability and efficiency of silicon solar cells, and they typically contain lead, a toxic metal that has major biological and environmental side effects.
Even so, the Japanese government is going all in on perovskite solar cells with the aim of addressing these challenges and scaling up their production and implementation. The government granted Sekisui Chemical, a plastic manufacturer based in Osaka and Tokyo, a $1 billion grant to manufacture perovskite solar cells that can generate 100 megawatts of energy by 2027. This would be equal to the amount of energy needed to power 30,000 households in the country.
Solar is emerging worldwide as one of the main renewable alternatives to fossil fuel energy. Solar panel prices have fallen by more than 90% over the past two decades, and vast amounts of solar infrastructure have been deployed globally over the past decade. However, due to solar’s intermittent nature, it has to be paired with battery storage to ensure energy generated during peak production hours, typically the hottest hours of the day, can be stored and later released into the grid when energy demand peaks, usually at night.
Japan will have to invest in storage capacity to supplement its perovskite solar cell ambitions. The country plans on installing enough perovskite solar cells to produce 20 gigawatts of electricity by 2040, the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors, as part of a long-term strategy to eventually draw 50% of its electricity from renewables. Japan currently draws 9.8% of its energy from solar, both perovskite and silicon solar cells, and is projected to rely on solar for 29% of its energy needs by 2040. With continued investment in next-generation solar and energy storage, Japan aims to redefine what a modern, self-reliant clean energy economy looks like.
Fortunately, many companies around the world, such as SolarBank Corp. (NASDAQ: SUUN) (Cboe CA: SUNN) (FSE: GY2), are continuing to commercialize novel energy storage systems. These could come in handy as Japan rolls out its flexible solar panels.
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