Meet some of the emerging companies in the PV manufacturing sector that are set to release new products, processes and equipment, which have the scope to be truly disruptive to today’s mainstream technology offerings. Showcased at PV CellTech USA 2024 in our Disruptive Technology session series.
Bert Thin Films
Bert Thin Films, Inc. has developed proprietary copper pastes for silicon solar cell fabrication. These pastes are screen printable and can be fired in industry furnaces. Thus, these products can directly replace the silver pastes that are currently used by over 90% of the industry and deliver the cost savings of switching from silver to copper. We have been developing pastes for several years and have been awarded several grants by the US DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office and have partnerships with Universities and National Labs as well as industry.
BTF is based in Louisville, KY and was founded by Drs. Ruvini Dharmadasa and Thad Druffel based on work that they originated at the University of Louisville. BTF has exclusive worldwide rights to the patents issued to the University. BTF is a small team of 10 business leaders, engineers and chemists and has collectively several decades of experience in materials for solar applications.
BTF currently has a 4,000 square foot facility that includes paste manufacturing facilities, cell production (screen printing and a firing furnace) and test capability, and office space. BTF has complete capabilities to QA incoming materials, pastes and solar cells. The PV lab is fully equipped to produce and test cells.
Thad Druffel
BlackSwan Silicon
We have invented a process, which has produced gram quantity samples of polycrystalline silicon utilizing a unique and straightforward chemical process. The process will work with Silicon. The novel aspect of our technology relates to its ability to run the reaction in a liquid medium, using relatively inexpensive, easily available industrial chemicals. The process runs to completion comparatively near to room temperature in a few minutes rather than requiring 1100 degrees C. for a number of days as in the Siemen’s process. The tests run on the samples indicate that they contain fewer impurities, have a more regular crystalline structure or both as compared with commercial samples.
The reaction occurs under quite specifically engineered, yet easily achievable conditions. The facility required to manufacture polysilicon under our process would, in essence, consist of incoming tanks for the raw materials, a reaction vessel, and tanks for the waste products. Some of the waste components could be recycled with the appropriate systems, and to the best of our knowledge none of the remaining waste components would pose a significant or hazardous disposal problem.
We wish to partner with a company with sufficient resources to complete the development of this process or sell the process outright.
Stephen Sauter
Caelux
Caelux’s proprietary technologies improve the performance of any new crystalline silicon module, making solar energy more powerful and cost-effective. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, Caelux is at the forefront of the emerging science of perovskites, a special class of nanomaterials. Its flagship product, Caelux™ One is an innovative product that integrates seamlessly into existing PV module manufacturing processes, boosting performance, reducing installed costs, and accelerating the proliferation of solar. For more information, visit www.caelux.com or connect on LinkedIn.
Scott Graybeal
Tandem PV
Tandem PV, based in Silicon Valley and founded in 2016, is driving the transition to a net-zero economy by working to commercialize the most efficient, durable and price-competitive tandem perovskite-solar panels on the market. Its panels are showing a 27% absolute efficiency, with 30% efficiency expected in the near future. Tandem PV has also demonstrated durability lasting decades based on industry-standard testing, placing Tandem PV in a market-leading position. Tandem PV’s panels will produce more power at a similar price per watt (compared to average silicon panels), reducing the levelized cost of energy due to lower balance of system, labor and land-acquisition costs. Tandem PV has raised a total of $33 million in venture capital and government funds including from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the California Energy Commission.
