Spire Gets Green Light on Triple-Junction PV Concentrator Cells
The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has authorized Phase II in Spire Semiconductor's triple-junction GaAs 42% efficiency "triathalon" concentrator cells.
Staff -- PV Society, 1/12/2010
Spire Corp. (Bedford, Mass.), which provides capital equipment and turnkey production lines for the manufacture of PV cells and modules, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Spire Semiconductor LLC, has received the OK to proceed with Phase II of its High Efficiency Concentrator Solar Cell program with the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
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Roger G. Little, chairman and CEO, Spire Corp. |
As part of the 18-month, $3.7M cost share subcontract, Spire is developing technology that makes possible the cost-effective manufacture of 42% efficient, 500 sun, concentrator solar cells for concentrator PV (CPV) systems.
In order to proceed, Spire had to pass through the NREL Stage Gate Review, which validated the progression of the project and to determine that progress met contract objectives. These objectives included estimates of key performance parameters of competitive levelized cost of energy, annual manufacturing capacity potential, direct manufacturing cost, and cell mean time between failure. The firm achieved PV cell performances of >39% efficiency during the first phase.
"It validates our efforts toward developing a proprietary gallium arsenide (GaAs) concentrator solar cell that exceeds anything commercially available," said Roger G. Little, chairman and CEO of Spire Corp. "The PV industry will continue to grow significantly this year and well into the future. CPV systems offer many advantages. The availability of our custom GaAs concentrator will put us in a good position to help our customers meet this market demand."
