Feb 27 2013
Solar3D, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity, today announced that the Company has filed a Patent Cooperation Treaty international application for its next generation solar cell design and methods of fabrication in the United States Receiving Office.
Pursuant to current regulations, all countries that are currently PCT contracting states were designated in the PCT application.
"This is the first big step in the final stretch toward making the Solar3D Cell available to the world. As we approach commercialization, we felt it imperative to expand the scope of our filing to cover our technology, process, and our potential geographic marketplace," said Jim Nelson, CEO, Solar3D. "Since we filed our initial patent application in 2010 and subsequent applications in 2012, we have made a number of new advances that have us poised to take an extraordinary product to market."
Inspired by light management techniques used in fiber optic devices, the company's innovative solar cell technology utilizes a 3-dimensional design to trap sunlight inside micro-photovoltaic structures where photons bounce around until they are converted into electrons. Solar3D's working, proof-of-concept prototype of its innovative solar cell has prepared the firm to focus on the new product's commercialization -- developing an advanced manufacturing prototype, executing a pilot production run, and identifying a fabrication partner that will mass produce the product and take it commercial. The results of the initial testing on the original prototype have been very encouraging -- but, says Nelson, there is still room for making the product even better.
"Our objective is grid parity or better," he continues. "By re-engineering the solar cell to manage the light and extract all of its available power, we have made a product that: (1) is significantly more efficient, (2) can collect light from wide angles and (3) is production friendly. In doing so, we attack the economic issue of the solar cell from both sides to deliver more electricity at a substantially reduced cost per kilowatt hour."
Nelson concluded, "The key to success for renewable energy is innovation. The Solar3D Solar Cell, as well as the other great energy innovations of this generation, is engineered specifically to reduce cost per unit of power. Old fashioned technology -- even in this most fashionable of technology niches -- will have to make way for lower cost, more efficient ways of producing and delivering clean energy. Economics continues to be the force that will drive widespread adoption of the product -- and will lead to an ultimate goal of zero emissions."