The latest fashion breakthrough is taking “activewear” in a new direction: researchers at Nottingham Trent University have created a new fabric featuring interwoven minuscule photovoltaic cells that can recharge the electronic devices such as mobile phones and smartwatches. According to the school’s announcement last week, the prototype swatch includes 1,200 minuscule solar panels—each measuring just 5 by 1.5 millimeters—that generate 400 milliwatts (mWatts) from the sun, enough to keep the juice up small gadgets thanks to the renewable energy source. .

A new experimental fabric can turn a coat into a mini solar farm
A piece of cloth can prevent your phone from charging. Nottingham Trent University

“Until now few people could imagine that their clothes or textile products could be used to generate electricity,” explains Theodore Hughes-Riley, lead researcher and an associate professor of Electronic Textiles. “… [T]he material we developed, for all intents and purposes, looks and acts the same as any ordinary fabric, because it can be scrubbed and washed in a machine.” The researchers also noted that, because the small solar cells are composed of silicon, the wearers will not notice a difference in the composition of the fabric compared to the usual clothing.

[Related: Best solar panel of 2022.]

Potential scaled-up uses include making items such as outerwear, backpacks, and other carry-on bags using the material, all of which would allow wearers to keep their devices charge while on-the-go during the day. “Electronic textiles have the potential to change people’s relationship with technology, as this prototype shows how we can avoid charging multiple devices at the wall,” added Hughes-Riley.

Innovations in solar power are key to transitioning human society away from fossil fuel technologies, and are advancing in a variety of fields. The European Space Agency, for example, plans to experiment with solar panel systems orbiting above the Earth. Since there are no real “days” or “nights” in space—not to mention zero cloud coverage—the potential solar power generation could be 8 or 9 times greater than what is currently achievable. here on the face of the planet. No matter how powerful a day is for us, it is encouraging to know that even small changes like the composition of our clothes can help usher in the necessary energy change for our species.