Victoria’s Solaires announced this week that it is collaborating with a Shanghai-based manufacturer to develop solar technology that absorbs indoor light.

Solaires is partnering with Genesis Technology on a joint venture called SEI Energy that will push for mass production of photovoltaic modules with an aim to replace batteries for indoor electronic devices.

The licensing deal enables SEI Energy to manufacture modules specifically designed for indoor applications, catering to a growing demand in the Asia market.

By 2030, an estimated 15 billion battery-driven devices will be in operation, requiring a combined 800 GW of power. The indoor photovoltaics market is projected to be worth $58 billion by the end of 2027—with perovskite-based indoor photovoltaics expected to represent the largest share of this total market.

As indoor solar power remains largely unfulfilled by conventional photovoltaic modules despite rising demand, Solaires says its technology offers a high energy conversion efficiency of 35% for indoor applications while remaining low-cost and environmentally friendly.

“Perovskite based PV modules, with their high conversion efficiency and ability to perform well in indoor conditions, have the potential to disrupt battery-powered applications like IoT devices, remote controls, locks, shelf labels, and keyboards,” posits Roni Peleg, Chief Content Officer for Perovskite-Info.

Solaires was established in 2020 and earned accolades in 2022 before partnering with Victoria neighbour XLYNX Materials earlier this year.

XLYNX—spun out of the University of Victoria—is behind diazirine cross-linking technology to address polymer adhesion challenges. What makes it a powerful pairing with Solaires’ tech is that XYLNX’s proprietary molecular bonding agent, BondLynx, has proven to be an effective stabilizing agent for perovskite solar cells, improving efficiency and long-term performance.

“BondLynx was designed primarily as a molecular adhesive, but researchers working with our diazirine crosslinkers have discovered some pretty exciting new applications for this technology,” Sean Bourquin, Director of Strategy with XLYNX, said in April.