[Irace86.2.0]

Using pyramids to concentrate light onto solar cells. This tech could reduce the need for sun tracking/motion panels, or it will require less panels, so costs drop.

https://news.stanford.edu/2022/06/27...t-even-clouds/

The device, which the researchers are calling AGILE – an acronym for Axially Graded Index Lens – is deceptively straightforward. It looks like an upside-down pyramid with the point lopped off. Light enters the square, tile-able top from any number of angles and is funneled down to create a brighter spot at the output.

In their prototypes, the researchers were able to capture over 90% of the light that hit the surface and create spots at the output that were three times brighter than the incoming light. Installed in a layer on top of solar cells, they could make solar arrays more efficient and capture not only direct sunlight, but also diffuse light that has been scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and seasons.