The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Osaka University have been burning the midnight oil; they have been working on a device which converts sunlight into laser-light with four times the efficiency of previous attempts. The project aims to use a Space-based solar power system that can collect sunlight in space and convert it into laser light, which will then be transmitted to Earth and used for electricity. The project works by storing sunlight-based energy in plate made from a sintered powder of metals like chromium and neodymium. When weak laser light is shined onto the plate, the stored energy is transferred to the laser where its strength is amplified by a factor of four. In one test, a 0.5-watt laser was amplified to 180-watts by the plates.

Apparently the scientists have been able to garner 40-percent of the solar energy produced, and they hope to have a system ready for satellite mounting by the year 2030.
Via – NNI Weekly (Sub Reqd)