Philippines: solar panels made from fruit and vegetable waste

Audio 02:23

Carven Ehren offers solar panels made from fruit or vegetable waste that produce energy regardless of the weather.

© YouTube / James Dyson Foundation

By: Manon Tomzig

2 min

Carven Ehren, a 28-year-old Filipino, has devised a dual technology that may well revolutionize solar energy production: a material created from agricultural crop waste, which captures not the sun's rays, but ultraviolet rays.

Called AuREUS, his invention was honored last year with the James Dyson International Prize for Sustainable Development.

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From our correspondent in Manila,

Imagine entire cities covered with solar panels, which would produce their own electricity, regardless of the color of the sky.

It was inspired by the Northern Lights that Carvey Ehren, an electrical engineering student at Mapúa University in Manila, designed AuREUS.

A technology based on a new material that transforms ultraviolet rays into electricity.  

“ 

By capturing ultraviolet rays, our technology makes it possible to generate electricity even in areas with little sunlight.

Ultraviolet rays are reflected off sidewalks, buildings and even snow.

By collecting them, at the same time, the risk of being exposed to them is reduced.

This technology also works at night.

It collects artificial light from cities,

 ”explains Carvey Ehren.

And thanks to the malleable nature of this material, the inventor envisages all kinds of adaptations.

“ 

Why not imagine clothes that would generate electricity in this way?

Electronic devices, car frames, or even benches, in parks?

 He imagines.

A promising future

Brenda Valerio is project manager at New Energy Nexus, an incubator specializing in green energy, which supports Carvey Ehren. According to her, the future of this technology is very promising. “ 

I think this will shake up the renewable energy sector. To imagine that such a system could be developed on an individual scale, in homes, where one could generate electricity simply by leaving one's car parked outside, is incredible and exciting

 ”, exclaims- she does.

Another major element that distinguishes it from conventional solar panels: it is made from agricultural waste, and therefore fully recyclable. “ 

Currently, we mainly use ginger, tomato, but also chlorophyll extracted from the leaves. But our goal is to succeed in making this material, this resin, from any biodegradable waste. In this way, we could help other industries, in particular the food industry which often generates a lot of waste

 ”, hopes Carvey Ehren.

Help reduce food waste, but also support farmers in the event of losses due to a climatic event.

Today, the engineer seeks to reduce the cost of manufacturing his solar panels in order to align with the prices of the sector.

He plans to market early next year and hopes to quickly open to individuals.

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