News

1 April 2009

 

HelioVolt raises $17.5m as part of $32m funding round

According to a regulatory filing last month with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as part of an anticipated $32m round of financing HelioVolt Corp of Austin, TX, USA has raised $17.5m in the form of debt securities and stock options from 17 investors including Sequel Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Noventi, Morgan Stanley Private Equity and Credit Suisse Private Equity.

HelioVolt was founded in 2001 by Dr Billy J. Stanbery based on his proprietary FASST manufacturing process for printing thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic (PV) material, either directly onto glass substrates for solar modules or onto flexible plastic substrate for embedding in building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products (e.g. architectural glass and roofing tiles).    

In 2005, HelioVolt raised $8m in a Series A venture capital funding round, followed in October 2007 by a $101m Series B round. The firm’s aim was to optimize FASST for further efficiency gains and to scale up the process into volume production. Subsequently, in April 2008, HelioVolt was awarded $1m from the Texas Enterprise Fund, as well as $600,000 in tax subsidies from the City of Austin, as part of a deal to construct its 122,400 ft2 manufacturing plant in the Expo Business Park in Southeast Austin.

Last October, HelioVolt opened its first $80m, 20MW commercial production line. The firm had originally intended to start mass production in first-quarter 2009 and ramp up from 160 to 300 staff and a capacity of 20MW by the end of 2009.

However, in February the firm said that it now expects to start shipping sample panels to customers only in second-half 2009, for mass production starting in early 2010. In a report in the Austin American-Statesman, Stanbery said that the firm faces technical challenges in getting the plant ready for manufacturing, and that the new round of financing reflects its continuing efforts to move into commercial production. T he funds will be used to further develop the plant .

Previously, in January, HelioVolt laid off nearly 15% of its staff due to shifting away from development toward manufacturing, as well as needing to “re-balance our workforce in a tough economic environment, where we need to be careful with our cash", according to Stanbery. The latest fundraising is part of an ongoing program to maintain the firm’s capital reserves, he adds.

Also, in February, Sequel Ventures partner Ron Bernal (a board member since 2007) was appointed interim CEO, replacing Stanbery, who became chief strategy officer & chairman of the board. Bernal will direct the firm as it transitions from development to commercial production.

"We are preparing for additional capacity expansion next year once market conditions have improved," said Stanbery to the Austin Business Journal recently. "We are currently exploring all options for raising the funds to support our planned growth, and as such are continually engaged in discussions with both current and potentially new investors."

See related items:

CIGS PV maker HelioVolt appoints CEO and CFO as it prepares for ramp up

HelioVolt lays off staff

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