DOE to Invest up to $12 Million to Support Early-Stage Solar Technologies

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced last week that the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will invest up to $12 million in total funding ($10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) in four companies to support the development of early-stage solar energy technologies and help them advance to full commercial scale. The goal of this effort is to help further expand a clean energy economy and make solar energy more cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity.

Companies awarded under the DOE’s Photovoltaic Incubator Program will work with NREL to transition prototype and pre-commercial PV technologies into pilot and full-scale manufacturing. The anticipated subcontracts, up to $3 million each, will be awarded as 18-month phased subcontracts with payment made upon completion of project milestones. The partnership projects  include:

Alta Devices, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) up to $3 million
Alta Devices will focus efforts on developing an innovative high-efficiency (>20%), low-cost compound-semiconductor photovoltaic module, with market entry expected in 2011.

Solar Junction Corp. (San Jose, CA) up to $3 million
Solar Junction will develop a manufacturing process to produce a very high efficiency multi-junction cell.  These high-performing cells will be utilized by concentrating PV (CPV) manufacturers to produce lower cost CPV systems.

Tetra Sun (Saratoga, CA) up to $3 million
Tetra Sun will focus efforts on a back surface passivation for high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells. This effort will result in a high-efficiency low-cost C-Si solar cell.

Semprius, Inc. (Durham, NC) up to $3 million
Semprius will focus efforts towards a massively parallel, microcell-based CPV receiver. This approach combines the benefits of unique-to-solar manufacturing techniques with the performance and operational benefits of microcell concentrating photovoltaics.