News

30 June 2010

 

QuantaSol gears up for volume production with management restructuring

QuantaSol Ltd of Kingston-upon-Thames, UK, which designs and manufactures strain-balanced quantum-well solar cells, has undergone significant restructuring as it prepares for volume manufacturing of high-efficiency multi-junction cells for concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) applications.

In late 2009 Chris Shannon was appointed CEO, in a strategic move to drive the business forward. Shannon has more than 20 years of experience in product marketing, product development to manufacturing, and international sales growth, leading the commercialization of start-up firms including roles at Ezurio and Queensgate Instruments.

Shannon has now overseen two new appointments to QuantaSol’s management team. Ivor Thomas joins as chief financial officer, bringing experience from several UK-listed technology firms. His role will involve introducing financial and operational systems in preparation for rapid growth.

Also joining as VP of engineering is Dr Gianluca Bacchin, whose previous positions include product development director at semiconductor laser manufacturer Intense Ltd and senior researcher/engineer at Corning OTI.

In addition, product engineering director Dr Tom Tibbits has been made director of product marketing. Tibbits has been with QuantaSol since its formation in 2007, having been a protégé (whilst studying at London’s Imperial College) of chief scientific officer Keith Barnham (emeritus professor of physics & senior research investigator in the Physics Department). Tibbits also spent a year at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

In June last year, QuantaSol announced that it had a single-junction photovoltaic device which achieved record energy conversion efficiency of 28.3% at a concentration of greater than 500 suns when independently tested by Fraunhofer ISE. QuantaSol is funded and backed by the Low Carbon Accelerator and Imperial Innovations, and its strain-balanced quantum-well solar cell (SB-QWSC) is believed to be the world’s highest performing single-junction concentrator cell, with the potential to enhance multi-junction cells to record efficiencies. Following continual development to achieve multi-junction cells with higher efficiency, the firm is now targeting volume production, with product launch expected later this year.

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