News

1 February 2007

HelioVolt and Exeltech to co-develop CIGS-enabled solar modules and building-integrated photovoltaic products

Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic cell manufacturer HelioVolt Corp of Austin, TX has announced a joint development agreement with Exeltech of Fort Worth, TX, USA, which produces inverters for the power industry, to commercialize turnkey systems for cost-effective, reliable solar energy generation.

The collaboration will draw on Exeltech’s core competencies in AC power system design and manufacture and HelioVolt’s proprietary FASST process technology, which is based on semiconductor printing for rapid, low-cost, flexible thin-film manufacturing process for CIGS synthesis. Development and manufacture of the solar energy systems will take place at both companies.

The firms aim to develop streamlined systems for both conventional solar module and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products. Enabled by advances in material efficiencies, product design and system integration, the resulting grid-interactive products will offer benefits in the form of high-volume manufacturing, simple installation and easier monitoring and maintenance throughout the system’s lifetime, say the companies.

The flexibility of the HelioVolt design lends it self to integration with Exeltech’s newest generation of grid-interactive products, says Exeltech’s Kevin Parsons, vice president and director of marketing. “The merging of these two very cost-effective designs can make a photovoltaic product deployable on a scale that will have a significant impact on the growing power needs of both residential and commercial customers and will reach a price parity with today's conventional generating methods,” he claims.

“As HelioVolt’s product development moves forward, this collaboration is perfectly in line with our strategy to partner with best-of-breed organizations that can speed thin-film-enabled product to market,” says HelioVolt’s CEO Dr B.J. Stanbery, who invented the FASST process and founded the firm in 2001.

Visit: http://www.heliovolt.com