News Article
Solar Junction to use DOE cash to improvise its III-V solar cell research
The SUNPATH award is aimed at expanding the firm's CPV cell manufacturing in the US and is aimed at 42% median cell efficiency on 150mm substrates
Solar Junction, a developer of high efficiency multi-junction solar cells for the CPV market, has been given a SUNPATH award from the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of a $21.5 million program to increase its CPV cell manufacturing capacity.
Through this program, Solar Junction is targeting a median cell efficiency of 42% on 150mm substrates. These factors will make a substantial impact on reducing CPVʼs $/W module costs by driving down the cost of the cell, while increasing the CPV module power output with increased cell efficiency.
"It is an honour to be in such a select pool of SUNPATH awardees through the SunShot program," says Jim Weldon, CEO of Solar Junction. "This allows Solar Junction to move into the next phase of commercialization and will allow for a path to volume manufacturing."
SUNPATH, Scaling Up Nascent PV at Home, falls under the Department of Energyʼs SunShot Program. This program aims to increase PV manufacturing in the U.S. through investments in technologies that are sustainable with competitive cost and high performance. SunShot investments are designed to help achieve $1/W by 2020.
Solar Junction announced in February a $19.2 million round, as well as an exclusive manufacturing agreement with IQE. Coupled with the SunPath award, Solar Junction is on the path to high volume manufacturing of its proprietary adjustable spectrum latticed matched (A-SLAM) cell.
