At CES, a curtain unrolls a new idea
On the opening days of CES 2026 in Las Vegas (the show runs Jan. 6–9, 2026), a quietly dramatic demo drew traffic: what looked like an ordinary window drape pulled from its rail to reveal a fabric-thin photovoltaic surface. The product, the world’s first rollable photovoltaic curtain as presented by BiLight Innovations, is one of three perovskite-based devices the company put on show this week—alongside a lithium‑free electronic nameplate for offices and a scroll-style portable panel for outdoor use. BiLight says these products combine sub‑millimetre thickness, fabric-like flexibility and indoor low‑light power generation to bring photovoltaics into everyday objects.
Three designs, one material logic
BiLight’s demonstration boiled down to a single technical thread: thin, flexible perovskite absorber layers packaged with new encapsulation and low‑power electronics. The curtain is reported as 0.1 mm thick and lighter than 150 g per square metre, able to roll on standard curtain rails and — the company says — deliver more than 18% photoelectric conversion efficiency while providing thermal insulation and shading functions. The office product pairs a perovskite module with an ultra‑low‑power e‑paper display and Bluetooth updates; BiLight claims the combination runs indefinitely under typical indoor lighting (~500 lux) without a lithium battery. The portable panel uses the same flexible stack in a scroll that unfurls into a full‑sized generator and includes USB‑C and USB‑A outputs. Those specifications come from BiLight’s CES press materials and exhibit demonstrations.
Why perovskites are attractive for these use cases
Perovskite solar absorbers have two properties that make them especially attractive for curtains, e‑labels and backpacks. First, they are compatible with low‑temperature, solution and roll‑to‑roll manufacturing processes that naturally yield thin, flexible films. Second, several research groups have shown perovskites can be tuned for excellent performance under low‑intensity indoor lighting — a key requirement for battery‑free IoT and e‑paper devices. Lab work has reported indoor power conversion efficiencies far above what standard silicon cells achieve under the same conditions, and researchers have explicitly pitched indoor perovskites as powering sensors, electronic shelf labels and always‑on displays. That body of research helps explain the strategic logic behind BiLight’s three‑product launch.
From spectacle to shelf: the commercial moment
The appearance of flexible perovskite consumer hardware at CES is consistent with a larger commercial trend: several small companies are moving from lab prototypes toward pilot manufacturing and first customer orders for indoor and flexible perovskite modules. Startups shipping indoor modules and industrial partners announcing pilot lines indicate the technology is progressing beyond bench experiments — especially for low‑power, niche markets such as BIPV (building‑integrated photovoltaics), IoT devices and consumer accessories. BiLight itself was founded recently and has marketed pilot‑line claims about producing ultra‑thin, rollable perovskite devices; the CES launch is framed as a next step toward consumer adoption.
Where the demo ends and the hard work begins
Despite the promise, there are important technical and regulatory hurdles between a show‑floor prototype and wide consumer adoption. Perovskite absorbers have seen remarkable efficiency gains in academic labs, but long‑term operational stability under heat, moisture, continuous illumination and mechanical stress remains the primary technical challenge. Device stacks must withstand months or years of window‑side temperature swings and daily sun exposure and, for rollable products, repeated bending cycles. Researchers and manufacturers are actively developing encapsulation strategies and interface engineering to reduce ion migration and moisture ingress, but those methods must be proven at module scale and under industry certification regimes.
Lead, regulation and environmental engineering
Most high‑performance halide perovskites used today contain lead, and that fact raises environmental and regulatory questions for consumer and building applications. Teams working on commercialization emphasise encapsulation and lead sequestration layers to limit leaching if a module is damaged; laboratory encapsulants and lead‑blocking chemistries have shown promising reductions in potential leakage during stress tests. Nevertheless, product makers will need to demonstrate robust, standardized mitigation strategies to satisfy safety rules and procurement policies in major markets — an order of complexity beyond the engineering of efficiency and flexibility alone.
How to read BiLight’s claims
BiLight’s performance numbers (above 18% conversion efficiency, strong low‑light generation at 500 lux, 0.1 mm thickness) are plausible for thin‑film perovskite stacks aimed at interior or shaded conditions, but they sit below the current single‑junction lab records for rigid perovskite cells and far below tandem lab records. The more relevant comparison is to other flexible and indoor PV products: if the company’s rollable curtain produces steady, useful power under indoor and overcast conditions and can be made durable, it could occupy a valuable niche. Whether that will happen depends on manufacturing yield, lifecycle testing, safety certification and unit economics once mass production is scaled.
Practical scenarios and the user experience
Imagine a conference room where door placards update over Bluetooth and never need batteries, or a studio apartment where a translucent curtain contributes overnight to charging a lamp and a phone. Those are the use cases BiLight highlighted on the show floor — low‑power, always‑on electronics and soft architectural elements that generate a trickle of electricity continuously. Trickle power makes incremental changes to energy budgets: in aggregate, many small generation points around a city or home could reduce grid draw for lighting and small devices, but they won’t replace rooftop panels or home batteries for heavy loads. Still, the user value is in convenience: fewer battery swaps, seamless integration with interiors, and portable options for off‑grid charging.
Next steps to watch
For BiLight and its peers the near‑term milestones to monitor are: 1) independent, third‑party durability tests and IEC‑style certification results; 2) details on encapsulation and lead‑safety engineering in module specs; 3) pilot production lines with yield figures and price targets; and 4) early commercial deployments in workplaces, hotels or outdoor gear trials that show real‑world behaviour over seasons. CES is where a technology announces intent; the work that follows — durability labs, certifications and the first paid rollouts — will determine whether these products move from novelty demos to everyday hardware.
BiLight’s rollable curtain, battery‑free nameplate and portable scroll are a concentrated statement: perovskite photovoltaics are being purpose‑rebuilt for objects and places where rigid silicon can’t go. That pivot from the traditional rooftop story to scenario‑driven energy is the most interesting takeaway from their CES presence — provided the technology can meet the hard requirements of safety, longevity and cost that consumer hardware demands.
Sources
- ACS Materials Au (encapsulation and lead sequestration studies)
- Communications Materials / Nature (reviews on perovskite cell stability)
- Energy & Environmental Science (reviews on perovskite stability and materials strategies)
- ACS Energy Letters (indoor photovoltaic research)
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A (perovskite luminescent solar concentrators and stability tests)
- Ming Chi University of Technology (indoor perovskite research)
- Consumer Technology Association / CES (CES 2026 event schedule and exhibit dates)
