10 April 2012

Ascent Solar announces winners of Innovative Design Competition

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA, which manufactures lightweight thin-film photovoltaic modules based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) using flexible substrate materials, has announced the winners of its company-sponsored Innovative Design Competition.

The winning team of students from Boston University, who developed a portable solar-powered water purification system, won first place as well as the Grand Prize of $10,000 and a visit to Ascent’s world headquarters and manufacturing facility in Colorado. Second place was awarded to the team from University of California Berkeley, who developed a scalable system of solar panels with a unique, flexible attachment method. Third place went to the team from Texas A&M University for their development of a solar-integrated beach umbrella.

The competition, which began last August, included teams from Boston University, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University, University of California Berkeley and two teams from the University of Oregon, in a competition to develop the most innovative applications for Ascent’s solar panels. The teams each developed working prototypes of their designs, which were enabled using lightweight, flexible, glass-free solar modules provided by Ascent. The firm also provided financial support to the teams, allowing them to explore the potential of portable power.

Ascent’s modules can be directly integrated into military and space applications, building-integrated applications, and consumer electronics for portable power or configured as stand-alone modules for large-scale terrestrial deployment.

Tags: Ascent Solar CIGS

Visit: www.ascentsolar.com