Remarkable feat! A team of Algerian scientists from the Djillali Liabès University of Sidi Bel Abbes has succeeded in developing a revolutionary invention. It’s about a solar panel cleaning technology which allows unprecedented efficiency and energy savings. This innovation will be the subject of a international patent.
The team of inventors made of four researchers, namely: Amar TILMATINE, Nezha KADOUS, Khelifa YANALLAH and Yassine BELLEBNA. The latter work in the Plasma Applications, Electrostatics and Electromagnetic Compatibility (APELEC) laboratory of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
On November 23, 2022, the APELEC laboratory announced on its official Facebook page the filing of a patent at the Algerian National Institute of Intellectual Property (INAPI) with international expansion (PCT filing at the level of the World Intellectual Property Organization [OMPI]). The invention bears the title of “Device for self-cleaning and cooling of solar panels by electric wind”.
APELEC specifies that this patent, which constitutes a first for an Algerian laboratory“concerns a new self-cleaning technique for solar panels unique in the worldwithout the use of water, without contact with the surface of the panel and which works with the power of a simple LED lamp.
What are the advantages of the Algerian system for self-cleaning solar panels?
The maintenance of solar panels is often a problem, because contact of the surface with water or cleaning products reduces their effectiveness. In addition, current ‘wind blast’ technology requires large power generators and therefore consumes a lot of energy. In contrast, the Algerian invention of self-cleaning and cooling by electric wind does not need any generator and works with the equivalent of the power of an LED lamp.
Professor Ttilmatine, director of the APELEC laboratory, told the site aljazeera.net “This invention is crucial in the cleaning of solar panels, because it is maintenance-efficient and energy-saving. It does not require a large blowing device. “We hope, adds the scientist, that this invention will find an echo on a global level in the future.
For her part, Yassine Bellebna said: “Solar panels require constant maintenance, especially in desert areas. Existing technologies work with water, which, in addition to being a precious resource, has disadvantages in use. Furthermore, current blowing devices consume a lot of energy. This is not the case with the machine we have developed.
The researcher continues: “We invented this technology by pure chance. We were working on making an air blower that we intended for another use. But after the test, we found that it would be more effective in cleaning solar panels. Currently, the device works with an electric cable, but we plan to equip it with a battery to make it autonomous.
The need to bring the university closer to companies and the economic world in Algeria
Moreover, the connection that connects the university to the world of economy and business is still lacking in many establishments and research laboratories in Algeria. But it seems that the University of Sidi Bel Abbes has made remarkable progress in this area. The latter has already marketed certain products from its labs, and today it is preparing to patent and then market its new device for cleaning solar panels.
In this regard, Pr Tilmatine emphasizes: “We have around twenty patents in many fields, the most important of which concerns an electric sorting machine for plastic and ferrous waste. A machine that we were able to market in cooperation with a company from the Sidi Bel Abbes wilaya. »
For her part, Y. Bellebna notes that collaboration between universities, research centers and industrial and commercial companies is still very insufficient. This is why, he adds, we must work towards strengthening this relationship in order to support scientific research and develop the national industry and economy.
The inventor explains that the absence of a relationship between the academic world and the economic world constitutes a waste of human and material capacities and renders the product of scientific research in Algeria useless.
Source: california18
