The rest is turned into heat, which results in the panels becoming even less efficient.

Wang’s system helps solve this problem by operating in two modes.

In the cooling mode, the hydrogel is exposed to atmospheric air at all times.

solar power station

dowell / Getty Images

“It’s how the human body reduces temperature by sweating,” Wang says.

Experimental setup of the integrated water-electricity-crop co-production system

Renyuan Li