Print
Email
Print Edition Stories
Carbonrally joins gaming with cutting carbon emissions
Mass. metal developer aims for more fuel efficient cars
The nation’s top energy official will visit the headquarters of 1366 Technologies Inc. on Wednesday to take a tour of what the Obama Administration called a “shining star” in the Massachusetts clean technology sector.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will tour the facility in Lexington, where 1366 said it has developed a new process for producing solar wafers that could lower the cost of wafers by up to 80 percent. Wafers are the basis for solar panels, which have seen only gradual adoption in the U.S. due to their high cost and other issues.
Chu will be joined on Wednesday by Arun Majumdar, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Majumdar previously toured the 1366 facility in September, as a result of a $4 million grant from ARPA-E to 1366 last November.
“1366 is a shining star, real example showcasing Boston as a leader in the clean energy sector,” the DOE said in a news release. “Since receiving the Recovery Act funds, 1366 Technologies has made rapid technical progress towards its goal of halving the cost of solar energy.”
The 1366 process aims to create the most common type of wafer, crystalline silicon, but in a single-step process that avoids the pitfalls of the traditional method. That process involves sawing of silicon blocks and wastes large amounts of silicon.
The company, founded in 2007, says it has developed a new piece of manufacturing equipment, the size of a dishwasher, that can convert raw silicon into wafers in one step. Executives said the breakthrough came in August when the development team — led by MIT professor and company CTO Emanuel Sachs — used the new process to create a 6-inch wafer, the industry standard size.
The company plans to only pursue wafers — not cells or panels — and will market the wafers to makers of solar cells.
With its technology ready, CEO Frank van Mierlo recently said 1366 can now pursue its next move, a 45,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. The company plans to choose a location for the site in Massachusetts in the next few months and expects to start construction in September 2011. The first commercial volumes are being targeted for early 2013.
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
RSS Feeds
