AQT promises low cost thin-film solar cells

A new alliance between Applied Quantum Technology (AQT) and Intevac, a manufacturer of equipment used to build hard drives, is promising cheaper, high volume solar cells – as the race to develop a cost-effective solar panel continues to heat up.

The new partnership was announced on the same day as AQT confirmed it has raised $10m (£6.5m) from private investor group STPV Holdings to help move forward with its plan to use off-the-shelf machinery from Intevac, tailored for the production of thin-film solar cells, to develop low cost solar cells.

The company said the fresh funding would be largely invested in the development of a new manufacturing facility that is due to be operational by the end of 2010.

The new round of funding will allow AQT to buy enough equipment from Intevac to produce 15MW worth of thin-film solar material. It will also allow it to expand its workforce to deal with increased demand for its products.

Hard drives are manufactured using a process called "sputtering" that deposits materials in layers on a disk. AQT has developed a process that uses a similar method, called "dry sputtering", to make solar cells.

The deal with Intevac is not exclusive, but AQT said its customisation of the machinery is what makes it so effective and played down the potential for competitors to adopt the same process.

AQT said it would not pass the cost of customising its equipment onto its customers, adding that by avoiding having to build its own manufacturing equipment it has positioned itself as one of the most capital-efficient operators in the growing thin-film solar market.

Like many thin-film solar players, AQT is making its cells out of copper, indium, gallium and selenide (CIGS), a compound that is cheaper than crystalline silicon, but less efficient at converting sunlight into energy.

By the time the solar cells hit the commercial market later this year or in early 2011, AQT expects the cell's conversion efficiencies to be at 14 per cent, with a finished solar module boasting efficiencies of around 12 per cent. This is a lower conversion rate than many polysilicon solar panels, but AQT believes its products will be about 30 per cent cheaper than its polysilicon rivals.

Based in California with 15 employees, AQT is backed by several undisclosed investors, in addition to STPV.