San Francisco-based GreenVolts, a company developing concentrating photovoltaic technology, has entered into a development relationship with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to commercialize an advanced solar cell design.
NREL scientists developed the Inverted Metamorphic (IMM) advanced multi-junction solar cell design, which last year demonstrated one of the world’s highest
reported solar cell efficiencies at 40.8%. Scientists say the technology holds the promise
for even further efficiency increases.
The Department of Energy has committed $500,000 for GreenVolts to co-develop NREL’s patents for the technology and bring it 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. The development agreement will be completed in multiple phases, each of which will build towards GreenVolts delivering an IMM device 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.”
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.
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