Time magazine has selected Thornton-based Ascent Solar’s flexible thin-film solar panel as one of the year’s 50 best inventions. “Standard solar panels are rigid and need to be mounted on angled arrays, limiting where they can be deployed,” Time states. “But the Ascent thin-film panelwhich rolls and unrolls like a carpet — can be integrated directly into building materials.” In August, Ascent announced a $437 million investment from Chinese and Singaporean investors and agreed to license its technology for use in east Asia. Other inventions cited by Time include Apple’s Siri voice-command feature on the iPhone 4S and BMW’s latest headlights, which will last much longer than existing models because they use lasers instead of LED bulbs. Time states that the lasers consume about half as much energy as LEDs.
Andy Vuong, The Denver Post
