Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Innovalight Achieves Record Efficiency Silicon Ink Solar Cell"

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Abstract:
18 percent conversion efficiency of sunlight to electricity independently verified

Innovalight Achieves Record Efficiency Silicon Ink Solar Cell

Sunnyvale, CA | Posted on September 8th, 2009

Innovalight, Inc., a privately-held firm providing printed silicon ink solar cell technology, today announced that the company has demonstrated a record 18 percent conversion efficiency with silicon-ink processed solar cells. The industry standard size solar cell results were independently certified by two of the world's recognized solar cell testing centers, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany.

Innovalight's proprietary silicon ink and processing technologies allow crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturers to dramatically boost output capacity, solar cell performance as well as reduce costs with a simplified additional step to already installed manufacturing lines. Crystalline silicon solar cell technology accounts for 86% of the commercial solar panel market today, according to Paula Mints, principal analyst for Navigant Consulting, Inc., a leading solar industry research firm.

"Recently, NREL verified 18% efficiency which is a very significant achievement," said Martha Symko-Davies, senior program manager at NREL. "We also are pleased that Innovalight has recently been awarded a $3 million Technology Incubator subcontract through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, funded under the Department of Energy," she added.

"Innovalight's silicon ink and processing technologies provide a compelling solution in an otherwise undifferentiated marketplace for solar cells," said Homer Antoniadis, chief technology officer for Innovalight. "Optimized for use with industry standard deposition tools, Innovalight's solution improves the economics of solar cell manufacturing," he added.

Innovalight is currently working with a number of solar cell manufacturing companies and is ramping production of silicon ink at its site in Sunnyvale, California. The company is developing technologies based on silicon ink to ultimately bring conversion efficiencies of crystalline silicon solar cells to over 20 percent.

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About Innovalight
Innovalight is a privately held firm based in Sunnyvale, California. Based on silicon-ink technology, the company is developing low-cost, high-performance technologies to produce lower cost solar cells. Innovalight is venture capital backed and has also received significant development funds from the United States Department of Energy.

About National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL)

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. For more information please visit www.nrel.gov

About the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) conducts research on the technology needed to supply energy efficiently and on an environmentally sound basis in industrialized, threshold and developing countries. To this purpose, the Institute develops systems, components, materials and processes in the areas of thermal use of solar energy, photovoltaic, solar building, electric power supplies, micro-energy technology, chemical energy conversion, energy storage and rational use of energy. The institute's work ranges from investigation of scientific fundamentals for solar energy application, through the development of production technology and prototypes, to the construction of demonstration systems. The institute plans, advises and provides know-how and technical facilities as services. For more information please visit www.ise.fraunhofer.de

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