Urban Photovoltaic Coating PaintPower: Turning Building Facades Into Power Plants

PaintPower, the photovoltaic coating developed jointly by Dutch energy research company TNO and coatings giant AkzoNobel, can be applied to building facades as a power-generating layer. The coating achieves 14.7 percent photoelectric conversion efficiency and produces about 19 kWh per square meter per year.

The core of PaintPower is a special coating containing perovskite microparticles. The coating keeps the application characteristics of ordinary paint and can be sprayed, rolled, or brushed onto concrete, brick, metal, and many other substrates. Once dry, it forms a film about 0.5 millimeters thick, with perovskite particles distributed evenly throughout to convert light into electricity.

AkzoNobel has signed an agreement with the Netherlands' largest building contractor VolkerWessels to use PaintPower on new residential and commercial buildings. The coating costs about 40 percent more than traditional facade paint, but factoring in the electricity generated, the payback period drops to six to eight years.

TNO researcher Joop van Loon said the next-generation PaintPower will target conversion efficiency above 20 percent and address long-term weatherability. The current prototype has already been exposed outdoors for 24 months, with efficiency loss no greater than 8 percent.