Eco-friendly art: Andre Broessel’s glass orb helps maximize solar energy

André Broessel’s spherical glass solar energy generator is one of the more elegant examples of concentrated photovoltaics technology we’ve come across. The architect shared his work with Designboom, where you’ll find numerous photos of the finely-sculpted glass orb. Broessel’s generator utilizes a ball lens (complete with optical tracking) to achieve higher energy efficiency than typical PV units — up to 35 percent, according to his tests. A number of renders demonstrate potential use cases for the design, though we’re not convinced such a fragile solution could ever gain widespread adoption, particularly as regular solar panels continue to drop in cost. Even so, Broessel’s structure is an impressive feat that borders on art, and it’s nice to see fresh innovation when it comes to improving solar tech.