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History
Photovoltaics, 172 years of history
From satellites to houses
- 1839: the French physician, Edmond Becquerel, discovers the photovoltaic effect (from the Greek word photos, meaning light, and volta after the physician Alessandro Volta who invented the battery).
- 1875: Werner von Siemens presents an article at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin on the photovoltaic effect in semi-conductors.
- 1954: three American researchers, Chapin, Pearson and Prince, develop a high-output photovoltaic cell just when the fledgling space industry is seeking new ways of powering its satellites.
- 1958: a cell with 9% output is developed. The United States launches the first satellites powered by solar cells into space.
- 1973: the first car powered by photovoltaic energy drives 4,000 km in Australia.
- 1983: the first house powered by photovoltaic cells is built at the University of Delaware.
Solar power, a future challenge
Faced with the planet's growing demands for energy and the increasingly rare fossil resources, solar power is today one of the main alternative energies.
From isolated sites to connection to the grid
Photovoltaic solar power has been exploited for decades in areas far from traditional electrical grids.
A growth in on-grid installations has been seen since the 1990s. Certain European countries have developed a deliberate policy of encouraging access to solar energy. You can thus take advantage of preferential financing solutions.
Major research and development efforts
Many research programmes focus on photovoltaic technology to simplify production, improve outputs and manage the end of life of installations. Tenesol is therefore involved in many fundamental research programmes aiming to increase the output of photovoltaic cells, make solutions more efficient, increase their operating life and develop new innovative applications.