Organic photovoltaic cell testing. Glovebox and eye protection apparatus being used by a technician during artificial ageing tests on organic photovoltaic cells. Light is shone on the photovoltaic cells to simulate normal operating conditions, to see how long they will last for. To accelerate the testing, the cells are maintained at a higher temperature to increase the ageing process by a factor of four. Organic photovoltaic cells use conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules instead of the usual silicon semiconductor material. Like all photovoltaic cells, they absorb energy from sunlight and convert it into an electrical current.