Academics from South Africa's University of the Free State (UFS), Professor Hendrik Swart and Lucas Erasmus, are doing joint research with Ghent University in Belgium towards developing a new type of window glass which would in effect be a transparent solar panel.
The researchers have created a working model which proves the viability of the process and now needs to be refined, made more efficient and brought to the market, hopefully within a decade.
This new product will have the capacity to revolutionise the generation of power cheaply from the sun to power homes, factories and cities in a new clean way, the institutes said in a statement.
The research, driven by the UFS, was prompted by ever-rising electricity prices and growing demand for electricity, which State power utility Eskom has struggled to meet, leading to blackouts.
"An innovation like this which can help to replace traditional means of carbon based fuel for power generation in our daily lives would be hugely welcome," Prof. Swart said.