Sencera International Corporation, a photovoltaic thin film module and systems developer, announced that it has secured a $3.6 million equity investment, led by The Quercus Trust.
The funds will be used to build a prototype 1 Megawatt (MW) thin film photovoltaic manufacturing platform, the company said. Work will also center on solar cell efficiency milestones. Upon the completion of the demonstration phase, Sencera will begin construction on a 35-50 MW PV module manufacturing line employing 60-75 highly skilled workers.
Established in 2003, Sencera customers included the US Army and the US Display Consortium. In 2006, Sencera began contract work for CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) solar cell developers. In 2007, Sencera embarked on the development of proprietary thin film amorphous silicon and microcrystalline silicon solar cells.
Sencera was founded by Dr. Russell Jewett, a PhD in Nuclear Engineering. He is a plasma physicist with broad experience from research at Sandia National Labs to commercial success in both large semi-conductor companies and start-up ventures.
Recognizing a market need for a high-reliability integrated power source, Jewett founded Litmas in 1997. Sales of the Litmas Blue product line to Fortune 500 customers such as IBM, Motorola and Texas Instruments resulted in the sale of the company to Advanced Energies Inc., based in Ft. Collins, Colorado, where Jewett became Chief Technology Officer for the Control Systems and Instrumentation Division.
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