Thin film gold rush gathers pace with $300m Nanosolar deal

Nanosolar, the thin-film solar specialist that earlier this year debuted an innovative technique for printing solar cells, has confirmed it has secured $300m (£163m) to fund the expansion of its production capacity.

The deal, which is a combination of supply deals, financing partnerships and fresh investment, was finalised in March but the company only revealed the news yesterday after the story leaked.

Writing on the company's blog, chief executive Martin Roscheisen revealed the company had secured backing from a wide range of investment and energy firms, including AES Corporation, the Carlyle Group, EDF and Energy Capital Partners.

"The alliance for solar utility power is the outcome of a year-long effort on behalf of our strategic partners examining the solar industry, investigating virtually every solar company on the planet, and conducting one of the most thorough due diligence efforts on our manufacturing operation, our scale-up capabilities, and our readiness for the level of cost-efficiency demanded by solar utility power," he wrote.

He added that the funding would be invested in accelerating production capacity at both its 430MW San Jose factory and 620MW Berlin factory.

The deal underlines Nanosolar's position as one of the forerunners in the booming thin-film solar market. However, the company is not alone in attracting significant backing with rival outfit Optisolar having raised over $200m (£109m) this year, Miasole reportedly seeking to raise a similar amount, and Germany-based Sulfurcell having also raised $134m (£73m).

The investment gold rush is being driven by predictions that thin-film solar cell technology represents the best opportunity for solar manufacturers to slash production costs to a level where solar power can compete with conventional electricity through the grid.

A recent report from analyst firm NanoMarkets predicts that the $2.4bn (£1.3bn) global market for thin-film solar panels is set to grow almost tenfold over the next seven years to $22bn (£12bn).