Leading Edge Equipment has a technology to improve solar manufacturing and $7.6 million to go to market
Using ribbons to produce its wafers, Leading Edge’s production equipment utilizes the floating silicon approach to reduce production to a single action, consuming less energy and producing almost no waste, according to the business.
Kellerman, now the emeritus chief innovation officer, was changed by Nathan Stoddard, a seasoned silicon manufacturing technology expert who has dealt with teams that have brought 3 different solar wafer technologies from concept to pilot production. Stoddard, a former associate of Greenlee’s at 1366– among the early companies dedicated to brand-new silicon production technologies– was won over by Greenlee and Kellerman’s belief in the old Applied Materials technology.
Silicon wafer production today is a seven-step procedure in which large silicon ingots created in greatly energy-intensive furnaces are sawed into wafers by wires. The procedure wastes big quantities of silicon, requires an amazing quantity of energy and produces low-quality wafers that decrease the performance of photovoltaic panels.
Leading Edge expects that its devices might become the standard for silicon substrate production.
The company declares that its technology can decrease wafer costs by 50 percent, increases industrial photovoltaic panel power by as much as 7 percent, and decreases production emissions by over 50 percent.
The $7.6 million financing came from Prime Impact Fund, Clean Energy Ventures and DSM Venturing and the business said it would use the technology to increase its sales and marketing efforts.
Established by longtime experts in the silicon foundry industry– Alison Greenlee, a quadruple-degreed graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who dealt with floating silicon method that minimizes waste in the production of silicon for solar cells; and Peter Kellerman, the progenitor of floating silicon approach innovations.
“After vital innovation demonstrations and the advancement of a new commercial tool, we are now all set to launch this technology into market in 2021,” said Schwerdtfeger in a statement. “Having just recently secured a 31,000 square foot facility and doubled the size of our team, we will use this new financing to prepare for our 2021 commercial pilots.”
The 2 won $5 million in federal grants and raised an initial $6 million from endeavor capital companies in 2018 to kick off the innovation.
Only a couple of weeks after the effective public offering of Array Technologies proved that there’s a market for innovations aimed at improving efficiencies throughout the solar production and installation chain, Leading Edge Equipment has raised capital for its novel silicon wafer manufacturing devices.
For the last couple of years researchers have been talking up the potential of so-called kerfless, single-crystal silicon wafers. For industry watchers, the poly-crystalline versus single-crystal wafers may sound familiar, but as with many things with the revival of climate technology investment maybe this time will be various.
The 2 founded Leading Edge Equipment to renew a task that had actually been mothballed by Applied Materials after years of research.
To advertise the project, previously this year the group brought in Rick Schwerdtfeger, a long time innovator in solar technology who began dealing with CIGS crystals back in 1995. In the 2000s Schwerdtfeger invested his time in building out ARC Energy to scale next-generation heater innovations.
For the last couple of years researchers have been talking up the potential of so-called kerfless, single-crystal silicon wafers. To advertise the job, previously this year the group brought in Rick Schwerdtfeger, a long time innovator in solar technology who began working with CIGS crystals back in 1995.”After crucial technology demonstrations and the development of a brand-new business tool, we are now prepared to introduce this innovation into market in 2021,” said Schwerdtfeger in a declaration.