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05 June 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs
Lucas Erasmus and Prof Hendrik Swart
Lucas Erasmus and Prof Hendrik Swart (right) are working on a joint project with Ghent University to find an attractive solution to address the energy demands of buildings, electric motor vehicles, and mobile electronics.
With a constant increase in the price of electricity, any innovation to replace this necessity in our daily lives is welcome. 

The University of the Free State (UFS), whose vision is supported by an element of innovation, welcomes the recent agreement between its Department of Physics and Ghent University.

Attractive solution

Not only will this research – which aims to develop the materials necessary for transparent solar panels – enlarge the international research footprint of the UFS, but it is also an attractive solution to address the energy demands of buildings, electric motor vehicles, and mobile electronics without affecting their appearance.

According to Prof Hendrik Swart, from the UFS Department of Physics, the agreement between the two universities entails a joint doctoral degree in which both universities will supervise the project and the awarding of the doctorate. The student, Lucas Erasmus, will conduct research at both institutions.

Transparent solar panel

The idea with the research is to develop glass that is transparent to visible light, just like the glass you find in the windows of buildings, motor vehicles, and mobile electronic devices. However, by incorporating the right phosphor materials inside the glass, the light from the sun that is invisible to the human eye (ultraviolet and infrared light) can be collected, converted, and concentrated to the sides of the glass panel where solar panels can be mounted. This invisible light can then be used to generate electricity to power these buildings, vehicles, and electronic devices. The invention is therefore a type of transparent solar panel.

Implemented in cellphone screens

This technology can be implemented in the building environment to meet the energy demands of the people inside the buildings. 

The technology is also good news for the 4,7 billion cellphone users in the world, as it can be implemented in the screens of cellphones, where the sun or the ambient light of a room can be used to power the device without affecting its appearance. 

Another possible application is in electric cars, where the windows can be used to help power the vehicle.

Low-income housing

Erasmus added: “We are also looking at implementing this idea into hard, durable plastics that can act as a replacement for zinc roofs.” 

“This will allow visible light to enter housing, and the invisible light can then be used to generate electricity. The device also concentrates the light from a large area to the small area on the sides where the solar panels are placed; therefore, reducing the number of solar panels needed and, in return, reducing the cost.”

The technology will take about a decade to implement.

“This study is currently ongoing, and we are experimenting and testing different materials in order to optimise the device in the laboratory. After this, it needs to be upscaled in order to test it in the field. It is truly the technology of the future,” said Erasmus.

Video: Barend Nagel

News Archive

Childhood passion becomes a successful career
2016-12-19

Description: Dr Thapelo Makae Tags: Dr Thapelo Makae 

Dr Makae took up his studies at the South Campus
of the UFS, and now serves as a community vet in Tshwane.
Photo: Anja Aucamp


Dr Thapelo Makae’s youthful passion has been a driving force in his chosen career. He says: “Like any veterinarian, my love for animals started from childhood. Growing up, I always asked myself why animals didn’t have doctors like we kids did, when our pets fell ill or died.” While veterinary services were unknown where he was raised in the Phelindaba location in Mangaung, Bloemfontein, Dr Makae started doing his own research as early as Standard 1 (Grade 3). He affirms, “I’ve always wanted to help these creatures that, it seemed, no one could help.”

Having started his academic journey on the South Campus in the CPP (as the University Preparation Programme was then known), Dr Makae obtained an undergraduate degree in Agriculture, later completing an honours degree in Agriculture. “It was at this stage,” he says, “that I was recruited by Prof Johan Greyling and the late Dr Luis Schwalbach. With their support, I completed my MSc Agric, besides having the opportunity to be a junior lecturer in Animal Physiology. Dr Schwalbach was my supervisor, my mentor, and a veterinarian himself, and I worked very closely with him. He encouraged me to pursue my passion and the dream to go ahead and study Veterinary Medicine.”

Realising that dream, Dr Makae is now employed at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as a community veterinarian. Among his many responsibilities, he is charged with serving the communities of the Tshwane Metro, where he visits farmers, assisting them with health and vaccination plans, and providing advice to help them develop their skills.

Dr Makae also seeks opportunities to pass on his dream. “What I am most passionate about is going to schools and giving talks to schoolchildren, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities, who might not know much about Veterinary Medicine,” he says.

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