News

5 March 2010

 

Magnolia wins NYSERDA award to develop low-cost nano-based thin-film solar cells

Magnolia Solar Corp of Woburn, MA, USA, which develops nanotechnology-based thin-film photovoltaic modules for terrestrial applications for defense and commercial applications, announced today that its subsidiary Magnolia Solar Inc has received a $1m award from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop thin-film solar cells in partnership with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany.

Magnolia Solar says that its technology — which uses non-toxic nitride-based materials on low-cost substrates — can capture a broader spectrum of the sun's energy and incorporates nanostructure-based antireflection coating to reduce energy losses, producing high-efficiency solar cells. Magnolia will collaborate with faculty and scientists from CNSE’s Energy and Environmental Technology Applications Center (E2TAC) at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech Complex to demonstrate its technologies in nanostructure-based thin-film solar cells. The program, which is designed to improve energy efficiency while reducing production costs, is also being supported by professor Fred Schubert at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Magnolia has received a NYSERDA order for the first phase of this three-phase development program.

“We are committed to growing in the Albany region, supported by the world-class intellectual and technological infrastructure at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech Complex,” says Magnolia’s president & CEO Dr Ashok K. Sood. “Magnolia Solar's mission is to provide environmentally responsible and low-cost solutions for the solar power industry, and to be an integral part of New York’s green energy future,” he adds.

“This partnership further demonstrates CNSE’s growing portfolio in supporting both innovative technologies and companies in the critical alternative energy sector,” comments Dr Pradeep Haldar, CNSE professor and head of NanoEngineering and executive director of E2TAC.

“NYSERDA’s early-stage investments in innovative, environmentally friendly technologies offer the promise of new jobs and industries for New York in the future,” says NYSERDA’s president & CEO Francis J. Murray Jr. “The new products that result from these investments will help us realize Governor David Paterson's vision for a clean energy economy that uses new and emerging technologies to save energy, create jobs, and improve our environment.”

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Magnolia Solar appoints Kopin technology director Welser as CTO

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