1883 1894
The first solar cell
American inventor Charles Fritts manufactured the first solar cell , using a coat of selenium and a thin layer of gold , while living in New York city . Fritt ’ s cell achieved an energy conversion rate of up to 2 %; nowadays , most modern solar cells work at 20 %.
An apparatus for generating electricity by solar heat
American inventor Melvin Severy created a patent for ‘ apparatus for generating electricity by solar heat ’, which was able to produce an electric current throughout the day . A later patent from Severy was for using thermal energy in order to produce electricity specifically for the production of heat , light and power .
1860s
1954
Solar power loses out to coal
Supported by the French government , maths teacher Augustin Mouchot conducted experiments on the conversion of solar energy , winning a Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition . Sadly , coal was cheaper and Mouchot ’ s work was shelved . It ’ s hard to imagine how different the world would be now if solar power had been pursued instead .
Bell Labs first working silicon solar cell
Although a chemist by trade , Calvin S . Fuller invented the solar cell . While working at Bell Telephone Laboratories , he managed to diffuse boron into silicon to power the first ever working solar cell which was used in the space race in 1962 . Fuller died at the age of 92 , in 1994 .
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