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Carmanah order for USAF in Iraq
NEWS ‘It is an innovative solution for true wireless power, especially if one realizes that the standard silicon solar cells produce only 0.6 V of output,’ claims Dr Nathan Zommer, CEO of Clare’s parent company, IXYS Corporation in California. ‘This one solar IC product is indeed revolutionary since it produces more than 7 V and thus can charge batteries directly, and naturally we envision it in any battery-powered product.’ The solar cell SOI technology is scalable. As a result, Clare is currently developing additional solar cell products for higher voltages and currents required by different applications. An entire family of parts, ranging from 2 V to 30 V with a variety of output currents, will be introduced shortly. In addition, since there is excellent electrical isolation between circuit elements on the PV die, it is possible to add other power management circuitry or logic control options with minimal added cost to the product. Evaluation samples of the CPC1810 were expected to be available by the end of October, with production scheduled for the first quarter of 2004. For more information on Clare Inc, go to: www.clare.com
Carmanah order for USAF in Iraq Canadian-based Carmanah Technologies Corporation has received another order for its aviation lights from a US Air Force base in Kirkuk, Iraq. The company will supply 120 Model 702 PV-powered LED lights to be used for obstruction lighting and helipad perimeter lighting. The value of the new USAF order is approximately C$146 000 (US$112 000), bringing the total for this air base up to 520 units of Model 702 and Model 601, valued at approximately C$297 000 (US$227 000). Since introducing its aviation lighting products last December, Carmanah now has more than 2600 units – valued at C$1.1m (US$840 000) – in the Middle East, southwest Asia and the US for permanent, temporary and/or expedited airfield lighting at military installations. The new contract ‘represents the first significant reorder for our aviation lighting, and provides confirmation from end-users that our lights are an ideal alternative to hardwired systems,’ says Art Aylesworth, Carmanah’s CEO. Carmanah’s ability to provide permanent and/or temporary airfield lighting that requires no cabling or external power infrastructure has
November 2003
enabled air bases to install high-performance, reliable airfield lighting at a fraction of the cost of hardwired systems. The bases are also able to eliminate significant installation and labor costs, as well as any ongoing maintenance. For more information on Carmanah Technologies, go to: www.carmanah.com For more information on these products, go to: www.solarairportlights.com
Konarka deal with world’s largest utility Massachusetts-based Konarka Technologies has begun a cooperation with Electricité de France, the world’s largest utility company. Working through EdF’s Easenergy team based in the Silicon Valley, the companies will collaborate to develop and launch Konarka’s polymer PV products into the global market to provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka’s PV nanotechnology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. The company uses unique, proprietary low-temperature production methods to put its PV cells onto flexible, lightweight plastics. Under the terms of the agreement with Konarka, EdF will contribute expertise from its European operations to accelerate the development and roll-out of Konarka’s polymer PV products. ‘Our relationship with EdF will serve to accelerate knowledge transfer, technology development and to better position the company to enter the global market, as will Konarka’s current partnerships with ChevronTexaco and Eastman Chemical,’ says Dr Bill Beckenbaugh, Konarka’s president/CEO. For more information on Konarka Technologies, go to: www.konarkatech.com
MicroFab award for solar inkjet process Texas-based MicroFab Technologies has been awarded a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for fabrication of organic PV solar panels using inkjet technology. The program’s objective is to develop lowcost, high-volume flexible solar cells using the
company’s patented drop-on-demand inkjet technology. Specifically, this project will enable printing of solar cells of any size on any type of substrates including plastics, making it a lower-cost alternative to conventional inorganic semiconductor-based solar cells. The MicroFab team, under principal investigator Dr David Wallace, will develop polymer solutions, and their printing processes to demonstrate the fabrication of plastic solar cells by inkjet microdeposition techniques. ‘This is an area of considerable research and development, but unfortunately there is no manufacturing technology suitable for making them in volume at lowest cost,’ says Wallace, the company’s vice president for technology development. ‘Our inkjet microdeposition technology will demonstrate, for the first time, the unlimited potential of printing solar cells on flexible plastics.’ MicroFab will commercialize the organic plastic solar cell printing technology by licensing and/or through the sale of manufacturing systems to major corporations that would manufacture them in volume. For more information on MicroFab Technologies, go to: www.microfab.com
STMicroelectronics research targets lowcost solar cells Italian-based STMicroelectronics – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of semiconductor devices – has released details of an advanced research program that it hopes will substantially reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar power. ST is pursuing alternative approaches in which the aim is to produce solar cells that may have lower efficiencies (e.g. 10% instead of 15–20%) but which are much cheaper to manufacture. The research team, based in Catania and Naples, is focusing on applying ST’s expertise in nanotechnology to the development of new solar cell technologies that will eventually be able to compete commercially with conventional electricity generation methods. The ST team is following two approaches. The first, invented in 1990 by Professor Michael Graetzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, uses a similar principle to photosynthesis. In a conventional solar cell, a single material such as silicon performs all three of the essential functions: absorbing sunlight (converting photons into electrons and holes), withstanding the electric
Photovoltaics Bulletin
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Carmanah order for USAF in Iraq Canadian-based Carmanah Technologies Corporation has received another order for its aviation lights from a US Air Force base in Kirkuk, Iraq. The company will supply 120 Model 702 PV-powered LED lights to be used for obstruction lighting and helipad perimeter lighting. The value of the new USAF order is approximately C$146 000 (US$112 000), bringing the total for this air base up to 520 units of Model 702 and Model 601, valued at approximately C$297 000 (US$227 000). Since introducing its aviation lighting products last December, Carmanah now has more than 2600 units – valued at C$1.1m (US$840 000) – in the Middle East, southwest Asia and the US for permanent, temporary and/or expedited airfield lighting at military installations. The new contract ‘represents the first significant reorder for our aviation lighting, and provides confirmation from end-users that our lights are an ideal alternative to hardwired systems,’ says Art Aylesworth, Carmanah’s CEO. Carmanah’s ability to provide permanent and/or temporary airfield lighting that requires no cabling or external power infrastructure has
November 2003
enabled air bases to install high-performance, reliable airfield lighting at a fraction of the cost of hardwired systems. The bases are also able to eliminate significant installation and labor costs, as well as any ongoing maintenance. For more information on Carmanah Technologies, go to: www.carmanah.com For more information on these products, go to: www.solarairportlights.com
Konarka deal with world’s largest utility Massachusetts-based Konarka Technologies has begun a cooperation with Electricité de France, the world’s largest utility company. Working through EdF’s Easenergy team based in the Silicon Valley, the companies will collaborate to develop and launch Konarka’s polymer PV products into the global market to provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka’s PV nanotechnology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. The company uses unique, proprietary low-temperature production methods to put its PV cells onto flexible, lightweight plastics. Under the terms of the agreement with Konarka, EdF will contribute expertise from its European operations to accelerate the development and roll-out of Konarka’s polymer PV products. ‘Our relationship with EdF will serve to accelerate knowledge transfer, technology development and to better position the company to enter the global market, as will Konarka’s current partnerships with ChevronTexaco and Eastman Chemical,’ says Dr Bill Beckenbaugh, Konarka’s president/CEO. For more information on Konarka Technologies, go to: www.konarkatech.com
MicroFab award for solar inkjet process Texas-based MicroFab Technologies has been awarded a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for fabrication of organic PV solar panels using inkjet technology. The program’s objective is to develop lowcost, high-volume flexible solar cells using the
company’s patented drop-on-demand inkjet technology. Specifically, this project will enable printing of solar cells of any size on any type of substrates including plastics, making it a lower-cost alternative to conventional inorganic semiconductor-based solar cells. The MicroFab team, under principal investigator Dr David Wallace, will develop polymer solutions, and their printing processes to demonstrate the fabrication of plastic solar cells by inkjet microdeposition techniques. ‘This is an area of considerable research and development, but unfortunately there is no manufacturing technology suitable for making them in volume at lowest cost,’ says Wallace, the company’s vice president for technology development. ‘Our inkjet microdeposition technology will demonstrate, for the first time, the unlimited potential of printing solar cells on flexible plastics.’ MicroFab will commercialize the organic plastic solar cell printing technology by licensing and/or through the sale of manufacturing systems to major corporations that would manufacture them in volume. For more information on MicroFab Technologies, go to: www.microfab.com
STMicroelectronics research targets lowcost solar cells Italian-based STMicroelectronics – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of semiconductor devices – has released details of an advanced research program that it hopes will substantially reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar power. ST is pursuing alternative approaches in which the aim is to produce solar cells that may have lower efficiencies (e.g. 10% instead of 15–20%) but which are much cheaper to manufacture. The research team, based in Catania and Naples, is focusing on applying ST’s expertise in nanotechnology to the development of new solar cell technologies that will eventually be able to compete commercially with conventional electricity generation methods. The ST team is following two approaches. The first, invented in 1990 by Professor Michael Graetzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, uses a similar principle to photosynthesis. In a conventional solar cell, a single material such as silicon performs all three of the essential functions: absorbing sunlight (converting photons into electrons and holes), withstanding the electric
Photovoltaics Bulletin
7