A photovoltaic cell which produces energy both from solar rays and rainwater. This technology was developed by scientists from Ocean University of China and Yunnan Normal University in China.

The revolutionary technology was developed by coating solar panels with a thin layer (as thin as an atom) of electron-rich graphene. “It conducts electricity and is rich in electrons that can move freely across the entire layer. In aqueous solution, graphene can bind positively charged ions,” the scientists reported in the German review Angewandte Chemie. This process is also known as Lewid acid-base interaction.  

However, the new invention has a few shortcomings. Conversion rate of water and light into energy is 6.53% at best, way below 15% of currently sold solar panels and 22% of photovoltaic cells tested in laboratories. Moreover, it is extremely expensive to manufacture graphene.

Nevertheless, looking at the performance of traditional solar panels in humid regions such as the United Kingdom, scientists believe that the “all-weather solar cells are promising in solving the energy crisis”.

Gwladys Johnson