According to the company, the project will help reduce electronic waste, lower maintenance costs, and improve the energy efficiency of buildings and operations, aligning with European carbon neutrality targets and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, namely clean energy, industrial innovation, responsible consumption, and climate action.

In a statement, it announces that it will launch "the first hermetically sealed perovskite device with glass frit, combining high efficiency, long lifespan, and energy reliability."

"The world faces a growing problem associated with the massive use of disposable batteries that power small electronic devices present in virtually every environment of daily life," the researchers warn.

These devices, known as IoT (Internet of Things), include temperature, humidity, motion, and air quality sensors, smart tags, meters, monitoring systems, and countless other devices that continuously collect and transmit data.

Their number, the project authors emphasise, “is increasing rapidly due to digitalisation and the need to collect information in real time, and it is estimated that by 2030, there will be more than 40 billion IoT devices in operation. Although most of these devices have a lifespan of about 10 years, the batteries that power them last on average only two years, requiring frequent replacements and generating an unprecedented volume of waste.”

Azure Photon, now recognised as a spin-off from FEUP (Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto), is emerging to directly address this problem by developing perovskite solar cells that generate energy from indoor light and power IoT devices throughout their lifespan, eliminating the need for disposable batteries.

The company was founded by researchers from the Laboratory of Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE), Seyedali Emami and Jorge Martins, and by Professor Adélio Mendes from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (DEQB) at FEUP, with the goal of transforming advanced research from the faculty into innovative and sustainable energy solutions.

Perovskite solar cells are an emerging photovoltaic technology made from abundant, low-cost materials, distinguished by their exceptional ability to generate electricity even under low-light conditions.

“In indoor environments, these cells have already achieved a record energy conversion efficiency of 44.7%, far surpassing traditional silicon and thin-film solar technologies. This efficiency allows the transformation of artificial light in offices, warehouses, shops, or smart homes into a clean, continuous energy source sufficient to power IoT sensors and devices without the need for frequent maintenance,” the company states.

One of the company's advances is the laser-assisted hermetic sealing process, which protects solar cells against humidity and oxygen, two of the main factors in degradation.

The University of Porto is an international leader in using glass frit to encapsulate third-generation photovoltaic devices, creating a completely impermeable barrier.

Cells produced with this technology have already demonstrated 2,500 hours of stability in accelerated tests under sunlight, which is considered "an essential milestone for their commercial viability."

The technical knowledge that underpins Azure Photon originates from research conducted at LEPABE, in the Department of Chemical Engineering at FEUP, where the founders developed the processes and technologies they now intend to bring to market.