> The engineering work is based on a process known as "molten regolith electrolysis," and Blue Origin has advanced the state of the art for solar cell manufacturing. In this process, a direct electric current is applied to the simulated regolith at a high temperature, above 1,600° Celsius. Through this electrolysis process, iron, silicon, and aluminum can be extracted from the lunar regolith. Blue Origin says it has produced silicon to more than 99.999 percent purity through molten regolith electrolysis.

> The key advance made by Blue Alchemist is that its engineers and scientists have taken the byproducts of this reaction—and these materials alone—to fabricate solar cells as well as the protective glass cover that would allow them to survive a decade or longer on the lunar surface.

This is super cool technology!

I wonder what the applicability would be on earth, say the sands of the Sahara? It appears to contain many of the same components. [0]

For years I have imagined a 40 foot container on tracks eating sand on one end and spitting out low-to-medium quality photovoltaic cells on the other.

[0] https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/chem-2018-012...