Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Nanosolar Achieves 1GW CIGS Deposition Throughput

Home > Press > Nanosolar Achieves 1GW CIGS Deposition Throughput

Nanosolar's 140,000 sqft facility in San Jose, California

Abstract:
Posted by Martin Roscheisen, CEO

As we are busy ramping our operation, we almost forgot to recognize achieving a major milestone in solar technology: The solar industry's first 1GW production tool.

Nanosolar Achieves 1GW CIGS Deposition Throughput

San Jose, CA | Posted on June 18th, 2008

Most production tools in the solar industry tend to have 10-30MW in annual production capacity. How is it possible to have a single tool with Gigawatt throughput?

This feat is fundamentally enabled through the proprietary nanoparticle ink we have invested so many years developing. It allows us to deliver efficient solar cells (presently up to more than 14%) that are simply printed.

Printing is a simple, fast, and robust coating process that in particular eliminates the need for expensive high-vacuum chambers and the kinds of high-vacuum based deposition techniques from industries where there's a lot more $/sqm available for competitive manufacturing cost.

Our 1GW CIGS coater cost $1.65 million. At the 100 feet-per-minute speed shown in the video, that's an astonishing two orders of magnitude more capital efficient than a high-vacuum process: a twenty times slower high-vacuum tool would have cost about ten times as much per tool.

Plus if we cared to run it even faster, we could. (The same coating technique works in principle for speeds up to 2000 feet-per-minute too. In fact, it turns out the faster we run, the better the coating!)

####

About Nanosolar

Nanosolar is a global leader in solar power innovation. We are setting the standard for affordable green power with solar cell technology of distinctly superior cost efficiency, versatility, and availability.

Our mission is very simple: Delivering cost-efficient solar electricity.

Leveraging recent science in nanostructured materials, we have developed a critical mass of engineering advances that profoundly change the cost efficiency and production scalability of solar electricity cells and panels.

Our first product, the Nanosolar Utility Panel™ enables unprecedented system economics at utility scale.

Founded in 2002, we are building the world's largest solar cell factory in California and the world's largest panel-assembly factory in Germany.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Nanosolar, Inc.
5521 Hellyer Avenue
San Jose, CA 95138
Fax: 408.365.5965

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark: