3GSolar Ltd. claims to have achieved a breakthrough in photovoltaic cells. 3GSolar founder, president and chief scientist Dr. Jonathan Goldstein says, "Our 225-square centimeter cells generate electricity from the sun even in the shade. This generation promises to be a breakthrough in low price compared with current photovoltaic cells on the market."
3GSolar notes that converting solar energy into electricity is expensive, and says that its technology will generate electricity more cheaply than both silicon and thin film technologies. "Large and efficient cells, the low cost of raw materials, and better performance in low light are the foundations of 3GSolar's revolutionary technology and production process," says Goldstein.
Goldstein presented the photovoltaic cells at the Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference & Exhibition, which will continue through Thursday.
3GSolar's development aims to solve a common problem in the solar energy industry: the low performance of photovoltaic cells in low light conditions. Industrial photovoltaic arrays comprise rows of solar cells that are serially linked by electricity. Usually, when a single silicon or thin film photovoltaic cell is shaded, this blocks all the cells in the series. 3GSolar claims that only its cells continue to generate electricity even in low light conditions, and do not block adjacent cells, even if they are in complete darkness.
3GSolar CEO Barry Breen says, "There is almost no limit to how low it will be possible to cut solar energy electricity production costs. When other companies struggle and cannot imagine going lower than $1 per watt in mass production, we have technology and a production plan that will bring is to $0.40 per watt of electricity. Our cells continue to work and generate electricity even in the shade."
3GSolar raised $5.7 million from New York-based 21Ventures, which specializes in early-stage cleantech companies. 3GSolar also obtained $2 million in a Chief Scientist grant and from contracts. The Jerusalem-based start-up continues to seek capital.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2010
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