According to an article in New Scientist, a team at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena has developed a flexible solar cell made from an array of microwires encased in a clear flexible polymer. It uses just 1 per cent of the expensive silicon needed by a regular solar cell with the same output, and is just 5 per cent of the size. The flexible nature of the solar cells mean that they could be incorporated into shelters, packs, or even clothing. Even more important is that with this new technology, the cell only reflects half the light of a regular cell. This means less chance of reflection.