Tofu could solve renewable energy toxicity

AN ingredient found in tofu could revolutionise the way solar panels are manufactured.

A chemical compound used in making tofu could substitute a highly toxic and expensive substance which is currently used in the solar cells.

In Spain solar energy is one of the highest contenders to take over from traditional sources but if the renewable market wants to compete then it will have to reduce its costs and the result of this chemical compound could do that.

Scientists at the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energies from the University of Liverpool are proposing to swap the cadmium chloride for magnesium chloride which can be extracted from sea water and is also used in the making of bath salts and anti-freeze.

Cadmium chloride is used in the manufacture of millions of solar cells every year all over the world and it is not only very expensive to produce but also highly toxic; it requires high levels of safety measures to protect the workers handling it.

Jon Major, of the Euroscience Open Forum, commented that magnesium chloride had given good results and had proved itself to be both easy to handle and cheap: 0,001 dollars per gram compared to cadmium chloride at 0,3 dollars per gram.