The U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has announced partnerships with 13 U.S. small solar businesses under its PV Technology Pre-Incubator program. The following proposals have been selected:
- Banyan Energy, Inc. in Kensington, California - $500,000 US to develop a flat Aggregated Total Internal Reflection (ATIR) optic for moderate concentrating PV systems. Contact : Banyan Energy, Inc. [email protected], www.banyanenergy.com.
- Crystal Solar, Inc. in Santa Clara, California- $500,000 to develop thin crystal silicon solar cells on ceramic substrates. This advance aims to reduce the manufacturing cost of silicon by reducing the losses associated with wafer generation and reducing the thickness of the resulting silicon wafer.
- International Solar Electric Technology, Inc. in Chatsworth - $456,006 to develop low cost, monolithically integrated, printed CuInGaSe2 modules on flexible stainless steel substrates. Contact : Vijay K. Kapur, President, International Solar Electric Technology, Inc. (818) 882-8687, [email protected], www.isetinc.com.
The Pre-Incubator program aims to bridge the gap between the concept verification stage of a technology and the development of a commercially viable prototype and is aimed at small businesses that have the capability to enter the market by 2012. We will provide details of additional projects in subsequent editions. (Source: NREL, June 9, 2009)
Contact: William Algiene, Senior Subcontract Administrator, PV Technology Incubator, NREL, (302) 384-7423, [email protected], www.nrel.gov