Olga Malinkiewicz (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɔlɡa malinˈkjɛvit͡ʂ]; born 26 November 1982) is a Polish physicist, inventor and entrepreneur. She is known for inventing a method of producing solar cells based on perovskites using inkjet printing. She is a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer at Saule Technologies.[1] She is the recipient of two European Inventor Awards (2024).
Olga Malinkiewicz | |
|---|---|
 Malinkiewicz in 2017 | |
| Born | 26 November 1982 Wrocław, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Alma mater | University of Warsaw Barcelona University of Technology |
| Occupation(s) | Physicist, entrepreneur |
| Known for | research on perovskite solar cells co-founder of Saule Technologies |
| Awards | European Inventor Award (2024) Order of Polonia Restituta (2016) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences |
Biography
editMalinkiewicz was born in 1982 in Wrocław, Poland.[2] She started her studies at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, where she obtained a Bachelor in 2005. She graduated from the Barcelona University of Technology in Barcelona in 2010. While still a student, in 2009 she started working at the ICFO Institute. In 2017, she obtained her PhD from ICMol – Institute for Molecular Science of the University of Valencia at the group of Dr. Henk Bolink, with a thesis on low cost, efficient hybrid solar cells.[3] In 2014 she founded Saule Technologies, with private backing and turned down an offer of €1 million (US$1.3 million) for 10% of the start-up.[4] The name of the company derives from Saulė, the goddess of the Sun in Baltic mythology.
Awards
editDuring her studies, Olga developed a novel perovskite solar cell architecture allowing the fabrication of such devices at low temperatures, while retaining high efficiency. She has been granted with the Photonics21 Student Innovation award in a competition organised by the European Commission in 2014 for this achievement.[5][6][7] She published an article on the subject in Nature Scientific Reports.[8] In 2015 Olga was honored with an award in the Innovators Under 35 ranking, organized by MIT Technology Review for "developing a new technology that could spark a “social revolution” in renewable energies".[9]
In 2016, she was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda for her "outstanding contributions to the development of Polish science".[10][11] For her future science and business activities, she was distinguished by the American Chemical Society as one of the top women entrepreneurs in new technologies.[12]
In 2021, she received the Lem's Planet Award in the technology category for her invention and commercialization of the printed perovskite-based solar cells.[13] In 2024, as the first Polish woman scientist, she received two European Inventor Awards presented by the European Patent Office. The first award was granted in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises category while the second one was in the Popular Prize category. Malinkiewicz and her team were recognized for "advancing solar energy technology with their cost-effective and environmentally friendly perovskite solar cells", which was described as a visionary idea and a technology that can change the world.[14]
Professional life
editIn 2015, she co-founded Saule Technologies (named after the Baltic sun goddess), along with two Polish businessmen.[15] A partnership was signed in January 2018 with the Swedish construction company Skanska. The company is also looking for partnership with other companies operating in the Middle East.[16] It is also working with Egis Group, a rigid plastics film producer, on the encapsulation of the cells.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Meet Olga Malinkiewicz who's printing wafer-thin solar cells made with perovskite". @scctw. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ^ Andrzej Kulasek (10 December 2022). "Polka przełomowego odkrycia dokonała po godzinach. A Elon Musk ma chrapkę na jej pracowników". wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "OLGA MALINKIEWICZ | University of Valencia, Valencia | UV | Instituto de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol)". Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Van Noorden, Richard (24 September 2014). "Cheap solar cells tempt businesses". Nature. 513 (7519): 470. Bibcode:2014Natur.513..470V. doi:10.1038/513470a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 25254454.
- ^ "Photonics21 Innovation Award - News - ICFO". Icfo.eu. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Partnerships key to photonics innovation, EC VP tells Photonics21". Spie.org. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "A low-cost thin-film photovoltaic device with high energy efficiency". Spie.org. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Tvingstedt, Kristofer; Malinkiewicz, Olga; Baumann, Andreas; Deibel, Carsten; Snaith, Henry J.; Dyakonov, Vladimir; Bolink, Henk J. (14 August 2014). "Radiative efficiency of lead iodide based perovskite solar cells - Scientific Reports". Scientific Reports. 4 (1): 6071. doi:10.1038/srep06071. PMC 5377528. PMID 25317958.
- ^ "Olga Malinkiewicz | Innovators Under 35". www.innovatorsunder35.com. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "M.P. 2016 poz. 1225" (in Polish). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "Prezydent odznaczył zasłużonych w służbie państwu i społeczeństwu" (in Polish). 11 November 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "C&EN's 2020 Trailblazers: Celebrating badass women entrepreneurs in chemistry". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ Katarzyna Puchała (30 November 2021). "Zmierzch krzemu – w cieniu perowskitowej rewolucji". globenergia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "EPO announces European Inventor Award winners". epo.org. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ ""Inkjet"solar panels set to reshape green energy". The Hindu Newspaper.
- ^ "Saule opens up licence for perovskite solar windows". Compound Semiconductor. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Making it real: Commercial field test of breakthrough Perovskite solar panel begins". Red, Green, and Blue. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2020.