NREL Seeks Proposals for PV Incubator Program; Announces Partnerships with 13 U.S. Solar Businesses
Source/Type: News - Staff reports

Author: CompoundSemi News Staff

June 10, 2009... The U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking project proposals as part of recently announced DOE funding to accelerate commercialization of solar energy technologies.  NREL also announced partnerships with 13 U.S. small solar businesses, which have the capability to enter the market by 2012. The goal of the PV Incubator program is to shorten the timeline for companies to transition prototype and pre-commercial PV technologies into pilot and full-scale manufacturing. The NREL says that the anticipated program funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is $9 million, and the subcontracts will be up to $3 million each.

Several of the 13 partnerships are companies that are developing compound semi-based technologies. International Solar Electric Technology, Inc. of Chatsworth, California will develop low cost, monolithically integrated, printed CuInGaSe2 (CIGS) modules on flexible stainless steel substrates. $456,006. TiSol, LLC of Pasadena, California, will develop a viable technology for thin film deposition using a flame synthesis methodology for dye sensitized solar cells. $499,100. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado, will develop zinc magnesium oxide (ZnMgO) window layers to enable high performance mid-bandgap CuInGaSe2 on polyimide modules. This work is also reportedly an important step towards the realization of CuInGaSe2 (CIGS)–based tandem cells. $315,037. EPIR Technologies, Inc. of Bolingbrook, Colorado, will develop a high efficiency single-crystal Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) solar cell for solar concentrating systems. $500,000. MicroLink Devices of Niles, Colorado, will develop high efficiency, low-cost, multijunction solar cells based on epitaxial liftoff and wafer bonding.  $500,000. Vanguard Solar, Inc. of Sudbury, Massachusetts, will develop a high efficiency, novel nanostructured II/VI semiconductor-based thin-film photovoltaic cell that they hope to produce inexpensively.  $500,000. Luna Innovations Incorporated of Danville, Massachusetts, will investigate new acceptor molecules for high efficiency organic photovoltaic cells. $499,994. NREL News Release

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