China Nuvo Solar Energy, Inc. (OTCBB: CNUV) announced that it will be developing a low-cost solar cell based on thin-film CIGS technology with its collaboration partner, Pioneer Materials, Inc. (PMI), at its pilot production facility in Chengdu, China.
CIGS, which stands for copper indium gallium selenium, has achieved the highest efficiency for thin-film photovoltaics at 19.9%, which rivals the performance of crystalline based silicon solar cells. With thin-film manufacturing techniques, CIGS thin-film solar cells can be made with 1/100th of the materials used in crystalline based silicon solar cells.
The company believes that thin film CIGS represents second generation solar technology when compared to traditional poly-Si manufacturing technology. Also, China Nuvo said CIGS avoids the cadmium toxicity issues surrounding the other mainstream thin-film technology, CdTe or cadmium telluride.
As previously announced, the company has a Collaboration Development Agreement with PMI for the company’s pilot production project in Chengdu, China. The initial project focus is to develop a single junction solar cell with commercial efficiency utilizing materials provided by PMI and incorporated into the company’s ceramic sleeve solar technology. China Nuvo believes this will provide the baseline for development of a multi-stacked solar cell that could provide an even higher degree of efficiency.
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