In the city of Berkeley, the only way solar energy can be cost-effective is if the local government provides generous subsidies. That’s true just about everywhere in the world. But what if there were a photovoltaic technology that was so cheap and so easy to install that even the poorest and most remote villages of the world could gain access to electricity? In this presentation, learn about discoveries of new materials that can make solar energy a reality for billions.

By exploiting the powers of nanotechnology and taking advantage of non-toxic, Earth-abundant materials, Cyrus Wadia has fabricated new solar cell devices that have the potential to be several orders of magnitude less expensive than conventional solar cells. And by mastering the chemistry of these materials—and the economics of solar energy—he envisions bringing electricity to the 1.2 billion people now living without it.

Cyrus Wadia, Ph.D., senior research associate Berkeley Lab (LBNL), is a pioneer in bringing a multidisciplinary approach to solving the complicated issue of renewable energy. Join him in a lively discussion of the promise—and the pitfalls—of solar energy.