A group of scientists have successfully developed the first ‘solar battery’ of the world that runs on light and air.

The major invention has been made by the researchers at the Ohio State University.

The researchers successfully invented the world’s first rechargeable solar battery after integrating a cheap battery storing energy and the solar panel’s functionality of capturing light into one hybrid device.

According to the researchers, the meshed solar panel used in developing the device allowed air to enter into the battery, which enabled the transfer process of the electrons between the solar panel and the battery electrode. The researchers explained further that the light and oxygen which were present in the device enabled the chemical reactions, leading to the charging of the battery.

With the incredible invention, the researchers have also solved a longstanding issue in the solar energy efficiency by the elimination of the electricity loss that normally prevails when electrons travel between a solar cell and an external battery. Scientists said that usually only 80 percent of electrons from a solar cell are able to transfer into a battery. The new design has enabled the procedure under which light could be easily converted to electrons inside the battery, saving nearly 100 percent of the electrons.

According to the researchers, the university will now license the solar battery to industry.

This would help the industry in taming the costs of renewable energy by around 25 percent, said Yiying Wu, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State University.

The study’s findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.