Malinkiewicz was born in 1982 in Wrocław, Poland.[2] She started her studies at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, where she obtained a Bachelor in 2005. She graduated from the Barcelona University of Technology in Barcelona in 2010. While still a student, in 2009 she started working at the ICFO Institute. In 2017, she obtained her PhD from ICMol – Institute for Molecular Science of the University of Valencia at the group of Dr. Henk Bolink, with a thesis on low cost, efficient hybrid solar cells.[3] In 2014 she founded Saule Technologies, with private backing and turned down an offer of €1 million (US$1.3 million) for 10% of the start-up.[4] The name of the company derives from Saulė, the goddess of the Sun in Baltic mythology.
Awards
During her studies, Olga developed a novel perovskite solar cell architecture allowing the fabrication of such devices at low temperatures, while retaining high efficiency. She has been granted with the Photonics21 Student Innovation award in a competition organised by the European Commission in 2014 for this achievement.[5][6][7] She published an article on the subject in NatureScientific Reports.[8] In 2015 Olga was honored with an award in the Innovators Under 35 ranking, organized by MIT Technology Review for "developing a new technology that could spark a “social revolution” in renewable energies".[9]
In 2016, she was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda for her "outstanding contributions to the development of Polish science".[10][11] For her future science and business activities, she was distinguished by the American Chemical Society as one of the top women entrepreneurs in new technologies.[12]
In 2021, she received the Lem's Planet Award in the technology category for her invention and commercialization of the printed perovskite-based solar cells.[13] In 2024, as the first Polish woman scientist, she received two European Inventor Awards presented by the European Patent Office. The first award was granted in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises category while the second one was in the Popular Prize category. Malinkiewicz and her team were recognized for "advancing solar energy technology with their cost-effective and environmentally friendly perovskite solar cells", which was described as a visionary idea and a technology that can change the world.[14]
Professional life
In 2015, she co-founded Saule Technologies (named after the Baltic sun goddess), along with two Polish businessmen.[15] A partnership was signed in January 2018 with the Swedish construction company Skanska. The company is also looking for partnership with other companies operating in the Middle East.[16] It is also working with Egis Group, a rigid plastics film producer, on the encapsulation of the cells.[17]
