The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, a non-profit company for applied research, said Tuesday that it has found a way to make solar modules with no visible connections and cells, which can blend with a building's "skin" to become virtually invisible.

"For decades architects have been asking for a way to customise the colour of solar elements to make them blend into a building's skin," the firm said in a statement.

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The issue with the usual blue-black solar modules, which are manufactured to maximize the absorption of sunlight, is the "visually unaesthetic" appearance of the devices, which hinders their acceptance, SCEM said.

"Currently, the market lacks photovoltaic products specifically designed to be integrated into buildings," it said.

White, which symbolizes versatility and elegance, is especially tricky to use in solar modules as it usually reflects light, instead of absorbing it.

To address the issue, the Swiss company said it that had taken the technology of solar cells for converting the infrared solar light into electricity and integrated it with a special filter that "scatters the whole visible spectrum while transmitting infrared light."

The technique, the firm said, made it possible for silicon-based crystalline technologies to be shaped into modules that would seamlessly blend with the surfaces of the building in any color, including pure white.

"The technology can be applied on top of an existing module or integrated into a new module during assembly, on flat or curved surfaces," SCEM said.

Aside from the use of the technology in buildings, the company said it anticipates to see "significant interest" in the development from the car-making business, and from the industry of consumer electronics, for use in gadgets such as laptops.

SCEM said that in addition to the aesthetic appeal, the white-colored solar cells may have other advantages as well.

Since the reflected visible light will not add to heat, the company's solar cells are anticipated to run at temperatures 20 to 30 degrees Celsius below the models already out in the market, SCEM said.

Tagssolar panels, Swiss center for Electronics and Microtechnology, Solar cells, Solar module, Aesthetics, Infrared light, Infrared, Electricity, renewable energy