In an era where renewable energy solutions are increasingly critical to meeting global climate commitments, a team of Peruvian researchers has turned to an unlikely source of inspiration: the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. Their innovation-origami-inspired photovoltaic modules-promises to address one of the most persistent challenges facing solar energy adoption in industrial settings: the sheer space required for effective power generation.
Published in February 2025 in the MDPI journal Engineering Proceedings, the research represents a collaboration between Dinamo Tecnologías S.A.C in Lima, the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and Germany's Technische Universität Ilmenau. The project, funded by Peru's ProInnovate innovation grant, demonstrates how the Miura-Ori folding pattern-invented in 1985 by Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura-can be adapted to create solar panels that fold by a single movement, reducing their footprint by up to 90 percent.
The Space Problem in Industrial Solar
The traditional solar panels are limited in that they produce very little energy per unit area. This means that a lot of space is needed to provide a significant amount of power. For the naval and mining sectors, this is a serious issue because they require huge amounts of energy and do not always have the space available for solar equipment.
Regular solar panels are also very heavy and bulky. Currently, this technology requires 25 kg of a 430 Wp panel weighing more than two square meters. This means that the panels are made of glass making transportation hard and making them very fragile. In remote places where transportation is limited, the bulkiness, weight, and fragility of conventional solar panels force customers to turn to diesel generators instead.
The naval sector exemplifies this challenge. Solar panels must often be transported by small boats-with extremely limited space-to larger vessels such as tugboats. Panels larger than two square meters are nearly impossible to transport unless the vessel is docked at a port. Yet larger vessels typically have large free surfaces that remain unused during standby hours-precisely the time when solar generation could displace costly fuel consumption.
The Miura-Ori Solution
The Miura-Ori pattern, which can be folded from a large flat area to an extremely compact size by pulling or pushing a single diagonal line, has already found applications in fields ranging from bullet-resistant police shields to deployable solar panels for space missions. The Peruvian team adapted this pattern for terrestrial industrial use, developing prototypes through an iterative process that began with paper and cardboard models before advancing to solar cell integration.
The traditional solar panels are limited in that they produce very little energy per unit area. This means that a lot of space is needed to provide a significant amount of power. For the naval and mining sectors, this is a serious issue because they require huge amounts of energy and do not always have the space available for solar equipment.
Regular solar panels are also very heavy and bulky. Currently, this technology requires 25 kg of a 430 Wp panel weighing more than two square meters. This means that the panels are made of glass making transportation hard and making them very fragile. In remote places where transportation is limited, the bulkiness, weight, and fragility of conventional solar panels force customers to turn to diesel generators instead.
Engineering for Durability
The research team addressed three critical durability concerns: broken cells from repeated folding and unfolding, smooth folding flexibility, and broken electrical bridges along the hinges. The electrical connections across folding lines are particularly vulnerable, as they must withstand large bending strains from cyclic use.
Through extensive testing of six-cell prototypes with different materials and layer configurations, the researchers determined that a total thickness of 2.5 millimeters provides an optimal balance of strength and flexibility. They also identified that braided connectors should be used for electrical bridges along hinges, as these proved capable of withstanding all bending strains, while bus tabs should be avoided for hinge connections.
The lamination process itself required innovation. The team built a custom lamination table heated to 150 degrees Celsius with electric resistors, sealing materials in a vacuum to ensure uniform pressure and eliminate air pockets. The final manufacturing process uses ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) as an external protective layer-particularly valuable in aggressive marine and mining environments-with multiple ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) layers serving as adhesives and encapsulants for the solar cells.
Real-World Validation
The true test came when the team transported full-scale prototypes to a naval vessel for installation. The advantage of foldable design was immediately apparent: panels could be easily carried by one person, folded for transport in a car, and then ferried by small boat to the larger vessel with no special equipment required.
Once onboard, the panels were mounted on a simple, lightweight mechanism that allows rapid folding and unfolding, complying with the vessel's space constraints and infrastructure limitations. The initial validation phase, with two panels installed on a supply vessel, aims to gather insights into deployment mechanism efficacy and identify potential manufacturing improvements.
Applications and Implications
For mining operations-typically located far from cities and reliant on diesel generators-the implications are equally significant. Mobile units in remote mining sites could deploy foldable solar panels during idle periods, reducing fuel consumption and emissions without requiring permanent infrastructure.
The research team notes that further validation is necessary across diverse environments, particularly in naval vessels and mobile mining units. However, the potential applications extend well beyond these initial use cases. The lightweight, compact, and efficient nature of the Miura-Ori solar panel makes it an ideal candidate for remote locations, emergency situations, and portable renewable energy needs generally.
A Broader Trend
The creation made in Peru follows the global trend for the development of flexible solar technologies. Data show that the global market of flexible solar panels is expected to expand from $2.84 million in 2025 to reach $8.92 million in 2033 at the average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3%. Currently, flexible solar panels are widely used under military camps, on board marine vessels, and in rescue missions, where even the cost of installation is more favorable compared to crystalline solar panels' installation costs.
As the research team notes, the development of the first prototype of the Miura-Ori solar panel is a huge step forward in the renewable energy industry. The innovative design of the solar panel combines the principles of origami with solar technology which is highly promising for portable solar power systems. The technology of folding a solar panel like a piece of paper can really change the situation both in Peru's navy and mining sectors and in case of remote power supply on a global scale.
