We’ve all that scientific calculator from Grade 8 that never needs charging. Or maybe a dancing Hawaiian lady in your kitchen window doing the hula into eternity. Could we imagine a cell phone that never needs tethered to a power outlet?
Now imagine an e-reader that never needs charging, a smartwatch that generates its own electricity or a wireless sensor (maybe a security camera? in your summer home) that operates for years without anyone changing its battery. California-based startup RadianX wants to make these possibilities commercially viable using a new generation of solar cells that work indoors as well as outside.
The company has raised $5 million in seed funding to expand production of its perovskite solar technology, according to a November 5 report by TechCrunch. The investment was led by SOSV and Twynam, with participation from One Small Planet, Sachsen Ventures, Avila VC, California Innovation Fund, quantumEDGE, Riceberg Ventures and Alumni Ventures. An additional $4 million in non-dilutive manufacturing investment from Pacific Union Technology Precision Manufacturing will support a dedicated production line.
The ambition is to make solar energy so small, thin and adaptable that it becomes part of everyday electronics rather than something installed on a roof.
Solar power that works under ordinary indoor lights
Most people associate solar energy with large silicon panels mounted on rooftops or in fields, soaking up direct sunlight. RadianX is developing a different approach, using perovskites, a family of materials that can convert light into electricity. Perovskite solar cells are attracting increasing interest because they can be manufactured as thin layers and engineered for different lighting conditions. We wrote about this possibility before. There was an Israeli company called Wi-Charge that used infrared light to power your phone. That didn’t pan out.
RadianX says its technology can harvest indoor light at roughly twice the efficiency of conventional solar panels under comparable conditions. This matters because many electronic devices spend their entire working lives inside buildings, exposed to artificial lighting rather than direct sunlight.
The company reports a third-party-tested indoor conversion efficiency of 38%, together with an outdoor module efficiency of approximately 22.3% for a panel measuring 1.2 by 0.6 meters. Its website also lists a certified outdoor cell efficiency of 27.3%. These figures apply to different tests and configurations, rather than representing one universal performance rating.
From solar calculators to robots and smart homes
Solar-powered calculators have existed for decades as we all know, but they require relatively little electricity. Today’s connected devices need considerably more energy to operate processors, wireless communications and artificial intelligence software. RadianX believes advances in solar materials and power management electronics can help close that gap.
Its technology is aimed at low-power sensors, smart home equipment, wearable electronics, electronic paper displays and robots. No mention of phones yet. For manufacturers, the attraction is not necessarily eliminating batteries from every device. A small solar cell could also extend battery life, reduce charging frequency or allow a product to use a smaller battery.
For industrial sensors installed in difficult-to-reach places, such as in fire detectors, eliminating regular battery replacement could substantially reduce maintenance costs. I’d love to have a all-winter camera that can provide security in my summer home when the power is off, for instance.
The environmental potential is also interesting. Billions of electronic devices depend on disposable or rechargeable batteries, which require raw materials, manufacturing, transportation and eventual disposal or recycling.
RadianX says its solar components can be manufactured as thin as 0.7 millimeters, allowing them to fit into products where conventional photovoltaic panels would be impractical. Its product portfolio includes AlphaGlass, a rigid glass-based photovoltaic platform, and AlphaVis, which uses semitransparent solar material for applications such as windows, displays and signage.
A third platform, AlphaFlex, is being developed as a flexible solar film suitable for curved surfaces and wearable devices. Instead of selling generic solar panels, RadianX plans to work with manufacturers to integrate its materials, electronics and power management directly into products.
Its website lists accelerated durability testing and an estimated field lifetime of at least 10 years for its full-size panels. That is a projection based on testing, not a decade of demonstrated field performance.
