Scientists Have Discovered the New Most Efficient Solar Energy System in the World

A recent study by Yale researcher Alison Sweeney suggests that giant clams in the Western Pacific could be the most efficient solar energy system in the world.
According to a new Yale-led study, designers of solar panels and biorefineries could gain valuable insights from the iridescent giant clams found near tropical coral reefs.

This is because giant clams have precise geometries — dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer — that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.

“It’s counter-intuitive to a lot of people, because clams operate in intense sunlight, but actually they’re really dark on the inside,” said Alison Sweeney, associate professor of physics and of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “The truth is that clams are more efficient at solar energy conversion than any existing solar panel technology.”