Jun 26, 2013 - Swedish solar technology developer Sol Voltaics today said it had secured a USD-6-million (EUR 4.6m) loan from the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) to further advance its Solink and Aerotaxy technologies.
The company says that its Solink technology, a gallium arsenide additive for crystalline silicon and thin-film solar modules, can boost rooftop solar output by 25%. Aerotaxy, on the other side, is an economical process for mass producing nanomaterials.
This is one of the biggest loans extended by the SEA, which is in charge of the development of Sweden's energy system. Sol Voltaics will use the amount to develop a bigger Aerotaxy machine, further refine the liquid carriers in Solink and scale deposition and bonding techniques for industrial use, it said.
“The technology developed by Sol Voltaics holds the potential to simultaneously make solar competitive with fossil fuels at market prices while increasing the business case for developers and manufacturers,” said Viveca Johansson, programme manager at the agency.
Sol Voltaics explained that gallium arsenide is the most efficient solar material known today but it is too expensive for most applications. The company has addressed the cost issue by minimizing the amount of gallium arsenide needed -- it uses less than a gram of nanowires to make Solink-enhanced modules. Solink is applied to conventional solar panels toward the end of the module production process using.
At present, Solink is being produced only in Sol Voltaics’ labs in Lund, but the company expects to come out with demonstration solar cells made from gallium arsenide nanowires by the end of the year. It targets commercial production of such modules in 2015 and volume manufacturing in 2016. Sol Voltaics pointed out that it intends to produce only Solink and offer it to module makers which will later incorporate it into their products.
(USD 1 = EUR 0.767)
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