| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Solar Energy |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder(s) | Dr. B.J. Stanbery |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Key people | Jim Flanary (CEO) Dr. Peter Hersh Dr. B.J. Stanbery Iga Hallberg Steve Darnell |
| Products | Solar panels |
| Website | heliovolt.com |
HelioVolt Corporation is a privately held U.S. energy company in the solar energy sector. It manufactures photovoltaic solar modules using a thin film semiconductor process based on Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) to produce photovoltaic modules. It manufactures thin film solar PV modules for commercial rooftop, utility-scale ground mount, residential, BIPV and custom installations. The company has attracted over $130 million in investment. It is based in Austin, Texas.
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HelioVolt Corporation was founded in 2001 to develop and commercialize a revolutionary FASST process for applying CIGS thin-film photovoltaics directly onto conventional construction materials. The company’s FASST process, [1] based on semiconductor printing, was invented by HelioVolt founder Dr. Billy J. Stanbery, an expert in the materials science of CIGS and related compound semiconductors. FASST is a patented manufacturing process for CIGS synthesis.[2]
HelioVolt is producing thin film solar PV modules for commercial rooftop, utility-scale ground mount, residential, BIPV and custom installations. HelioVolt, a thin-film company, is combining high-efficiency products with low-cost manufacturing [1] capabilities to create a new generation of Copper Indium Gallium (di)Selenide (CIGS) based solar modules.
Large-scale investment in HelioVolt began with $8 million in Series A funding from New Enterprise Associates in 2005. [3] A further $77 million was added in a Series B funding round co-led by Paladin Capital Group and the Masdar Clean Tech Fund in August 2007.[4] The Series B funding round was closed for a total of $101 million in October 2007 with investments from Sequel Venture Partners, Noventi, and Passport Capital. [5] The latest investment will be used to build factories.
HelioVolt has developed a new way to manufacture thin-film CIGS semiconductor coatings for solar panels, based on research into the fundamental device physics of the CIGS semiconductor material.[6]
Conventional semiconductor processing requires a vacuum process to deposit the semiconductor film on the substrate. The need for vacuum chambers makes this a lengthy batch-oriented production process. HelioVolt has developed a nanomaterial-based coating that can be sprayed onto a wide variety of substrates without requiring a vacuum. Non-vacuum or atmospheric deposition processes offer a combination of lower costs, process simplicity and reduced manufacturing times.[1] The company's FASST manufacturing process[7] won a Nanotech Briefs "Nano 50" nanotechnology award in 2006.[8] In 2008, HelioVolt and NREL won an R&D 100 Award for their innovative Thin Film Solar Printing Process,[9] as well as the year's coveted R&D Magazine's Editor’s Choice for Most Revolutionary Technology.[10][11]
HelioVolt has produced thin film solar cells that can convert 14 percent of the sunlight that hit them into electricity, and solar modules with conversion efficiencies of 12 percent, as certified by NREL.[12]
HelioVolt has scaled up its process in its Austin, TX factory and will start production in late 2009.
Nanosolar and International Solar Electric Technology have developed similar technologies:
See also Copper indium gallium selenide#Companies for a more complete listing.
First Solar is by far the world’s largest thin-film solar company.[16]