Natcore Technology and Vanguard Solar combine to advance the efficiency of solar energy conversion. Natcore Technology is the exclusive licensee, from Rice University, of a thin-film growth technology enabling room-temperature growth of various silicon oxides on silicon wafers in a liquid phase deposition (LPD) process. Natcore’s acquisition of Vanguard Solar will close after appropriate due diligence. …
… “The first-generation products from Vanguard’s method could produce 15%-16% efficiencies at module costs of 60¢ to 70¢ per watt. It is anticipated that second-generation technology could achieve 20% efficiencies at even lower costs per watt.
The investment for production facilities is projected as low as $10 million to $15 million per 100-megawatt to 150-megawatt production capability, as compared with current costs of as much as $250 million for standard solar-cell production facilities.
Vanguard’s production equipment would be designed for insertion into an existing roll-to-roll film-coating line of the sort that has been displaced by the emergence of digital photography. All production materials are widely available and dramatically cheaper than silicon and other thin film systems.
If successfully developed, the process would enable a very cost-efficient production capability in large-scale facilities.” …
Via Natcore: Solar Science Portfolio Expands.