Inspired By Trees, Researchers Use Standing Nanowires To Develop Super-efficient Solar Cells [VIDEO]

A new concept in solar technology is poised to make a huge impact on the affordability of solar energy by blending cutting-edge techniques in nanoengineering with a design as old as the trees. To come up with a working solar panel that uses 10,000 times less material than traditional models without sacrificing efficiency professor Anna Fontcuberta, of the Swiss technology institute école polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, looked up, to the trees themselves.