It might sound like something out of a science fiction film, but Welsh scientists claim to have developed a method for capturing solar energy using a new type of paint-like solar cells that could be applied to steel structures, raising the prospect of new buildings that generate usable energy from their external surfaces.

Researchers at the University of Swansea claim the breakthrough was made by an engineering doctorate student who was studying how sunlight degrades paint and found that it could prove possible to develop a type of paint that could exploit a new photovoltaic method of capturing solar energy.

Researchers working on the project are cagey about the exact nature of the photovoltaic technique involved, but claim that unlike conventional solar cells the materials currently being developed are more efficient at capturing low light radiation, making them particularly effective in the UK climate.

The success of the initial study, which is was carried out in conjunction with steel giant Corus, has resulted in the award of a three-year research grant worth over £1.5m by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) designed to aid the development of a commercially viable version of the paint-like material.

The University of Swansea said it would now begin working with Bangor University, the University of Bath and Imperial College London on the project.

Dr Dave Worsley, a reader in the Materials Research Centre at the University's School of Engineering, who led the first phase of research said that the breakthrough could have enormous implications for the way new buildings are powered.

"[Corus' pre-finished steel division] Corus Colours produces around 100 million square metres of steel building cla dding a year," he observed. "If this was treated with the photovoltaic material, and assuming a conservative five per cent energy conversion rate, then we could be looking at generating 4,500Gw of electricity through the solar cells annually. That's the equivalent output of roughly 50 wind farms."

It is also hoped that the solar cell material could be applied to steel using existing paint rollers used during steel manufacturing processes. The researchers said they hoped to develop a way of applying layers of solar cells to a flexible steel service at a rate of 30-40m sq per minute, potentially making the process relatively cost effective.