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GreenVolts and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab to Collaborate on Commercialization of IMM Multi-Junction Solar Cell Technology
DOE Commits $500,000 to Advance the Commercialization of NREL's Technology Licensed by GreenVolts, Capable of Producing Higher Efficiency, Improved Manufacturability, and Lower Cost Solar Energy
| Source: GreenVolts
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - March 16, 2009) - GreenVolts, a leader in concentrating
photovoltaic technology, today announced that it has entered into a
development relationship with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) to commercialize the Inverted Metamorphic (IMM) advanced
multi-junction solar cell design. The Department of Energy has committed
$500,000 for GreenVolts to co-develop NREL's patents and bring this new
technology to market. Additionally, GreenVolts has signed a licensing
agreement with NREL to commercialize their patents.
The purpose of this two-year agreement is to transfer NREL's IMM solar cell
technology to GreenVolts so that the company can develop a customized cell
tailored to its optical system, and accelerate the widespread
commercialization of the technology through its high volume manufacturing
partners. The development agreement will be completed in multiple phases,
each of which will build towards GreenVolts delivering a customized,
reliable IMM device cost effectively fabricated at high volume.
"We believe this new IMM technology is key to a tremendous leap forward in
solar cell efficiency," NREL Director Dan Arvizu said. "We are pleased to
be working with GreenVolts to both refine these advancements and provide
for a viable way to bring them to market."
The NREL IMM technology has demonstrated one of the world's highest
reported solar cell efficiencies at 40.8 percent, and holds the promise for
even further substantial increases. A customized solar cell will enable
GreenVolts to optimize its concentrating photovoltaic system by increasing
efficiency and reliability while reducing the overall cost of energy.
"This is an exciting opportunity to make significant advancements in the
performance of solar cell technology," said Bob Cart, founder and CEO of
GreenVolts. "We look forward to working closely with NREL to develop a
quality high volume, low cost manufacturing process to ensure that this
next generation technology will be readily available."
Under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), technical
representatives from both parties cooperate to make important technical
advancements. Throughout the CRADA, NREL will provide necessary technology
specifications and process information as well as advice and assistance in
the device optimization and technology transfer. NREL will also provide
test and measurement services to qualify the results of the transfer
process, including its reliability.
About GreenVolts
GreenVolts, Inc., based in San Francisco, was founded in 2005 to deliver
solar power at costs competitive with that derived from fossil fuels. The
company's breakthrough concentrating photovoltaic technology efficiently
integrates tracking and optics into a system that lowers the cost of
energy. In addition, the low-profile tracker design minimizes issues
associated with wind loading and eliminates the need for concrete supports
to allow for rapid deployment. Through low cost, high efficiency systems,
the company can access large markets previously inaccessible to solar.