Thin Film PV

Despite a whopping cleantech budget announced in the US this year the solar sector won't be getting any blatant hand-outs. Just how healthy is the solar sector and in particular the thin film segment? And just will it fund its future?

Despite a whopping cleantech budget announced in the US

 this year the solar sector won't be getting any blatant hand-outs. Just how healthy is the solar sector and in particular the thin film segment? And just will it fund its future?By Elizabeth Block Despite venture capital investment in US thin film weakening in the past two years new firms are sprouting up and First Solar is reporting huge gains. Brad Collins executive director of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) expects the VC sector to be the biggest investor in the thin film industry - with larger investments this year. "The driver will be purchase contracts for solar electrons from utilities " he says.

"These will provide surety to the investor and reasonable return for their risk.

"There is a lot of venture capital waiting for opportunity." Eric Wesoff

a senior analyst at US-based Greentech Media and author of the Greentech Innovations Report is bullish on one innovation: CIGS – and is especially keen on Applied Quantum Technology (AQT) in Santa Clara California. "This is a CIGS developer that has made enormous technical progress on a shoestring budget with a business plan that doesn't require half a billion dollars to get to market." Wesoff likes the fact that AQT has focused on building solar cells not manufacturing equipment.

"Call it CIGS or Thin Film 2.0 " Wesoff says. Michael Bartholomeusz CEO of AQT says: "In the past few years with dramatic decreases in cell cost other elements of the cost equation are coming in for greater attention. "That is the whole product delivery chain has to be streamlined. "New module designs and technologies module mounting innovations and micro-inverter technology are some interesting areas that will impact the grid parity equation." In regard to his technology he says: "We started with copper indium sulfide as a model system and used it as a stepping stone to the more complex CIGS and CIGSS systems. "But we are not commercialising copper indium sulfide. We are moving into pilot production and plan to scale it in a modular fashion." Other sub-sector innovations Dr Reddy founder and CEO of Solexant Corp. in San Jose California sees the most promising area of innovation – and cost savings - in ultra thin PV more specifically in new generation roll-to-roll flexible substrates. "We are using nano and printing technology to cut our own costs " he says. "Nano allows us to use standard inorganic semi-conductors and we use multiple printer layers to capture light from a broader spectrum. "So we are saving a great deal in cost of equipment." The company licences its printable nano-material technologies from universities. Rajeeva Lahri CEO of Menlo Park California-based Signet Solar sees his company's single junction (SJ) thin film technology as the way ahead. In his view increased efficiency would involve aSiH efficiency enhancements nano materials increased light trapping and advanced device architectures. Very recently researchers at IBM have increased the efficiency of a new type of solar cell made largely from cheap and abundant materials by over 40% - claiming 9.6%. The IBM solar cells made with an inexpensive ink-based process convert light into electricity using a semiconductor material made of copper zinc tin and sulfur--all abundant elements--as well as the relatively rare element selenium (CZTS). Looking at innovation trends ASES' Collins says: "I feel that the utility scale sector will be fastest growing in the near term." "Particularly Concentrating Solar Thermal solar electric generating systems and thin film solar fields.

"These will range in the low tens of megawatts to several hundred megawatts in size and this will force larger production manufacturing systems and processes which in turn will lower overall cost." Funding Bartholomeusz of AQT expects money to come from a combination of government subsidies and VCs. "Many TFPV companies are at advanced stages of development and will need substantial cash infusions to get them over the hump and become self sustaining. "This is particularly true given the advances made by silicon on the cost side. "Corporates will probably be the next wave when some of the business fundamentals are a little clearer." Solexant's Reddy is a veteran of an Oxford University spin-out called Opsys Ltd. which has raised more than $22m in two funding rounds since founding the company in 2006. The company's R&D centre is in San Jose and a manufacturing plant is in the planning stage. He believes that companies that can cut their costs along the whole value chain will get funded. "Thin film is already taking a larger market share due to falling manufacturing costs and we will see lower cost solar cells in the next two to three years. "So this will cut the risk and attract the finance." From the acknowledged leader in thin film First Solar Brandon Mitchener Director for Corporate Communications EMEA says:

"Speaking only on behalf of First Solar our advanced thin film technology has driven down manufacturing costs for PV modules from nearly $3/watt in 2004 to $0.85/watt in 2009. "The combination of innovative technology state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and sustainable value chains allow us to provide our customers with green affordable solar energy and reach grid parity within the next few years. We are also working with partners to reduce overall balance-of-system costs." In 2009 First Solar's sales rose nearly 66% to $2.07bn. The full-year profit was $640.1m or $7.53 per share up nearly 84% from 2008.

Is parity in sight? Subhendu Guha chairman of United Solar Ovonic a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices recently predicted that parity is in sight by 2020. But says it will take government support in terms of market pull such as feed-in tariffs barrier removal such as net metering and uniform code and a technology push that focuses on the cost of electricity. A skills gap? Asked if there is a skills gap Dawn E. Dzurilla founder and president Gaia Human Capital Consultants in New York had this to say: Yes!

Many of today's most innovative technology companies including thin film firms

 are started by technologists and engineers and to move a company towards commercialisation multidisciplinary management teams are a must.

"Even though much entrepreneurially spirited talent has crossed over from global industries our sector needs more people with best-in-class multidisciplinary

 management principles and execution coordination including manufacturing sales & marketing finance

 IT

 and engineering."

 Dr Rona Fried President of SustainableBusiness.com says: "As exciting as the rise of solar energy is in its ability to provide the world with clean electricity equally

 as compelling is the industry's ability to create well paying life enhancing jobs." Several studies come to the same conclusion: solar

 - and renewable energy jobs in general

 - are much more impressive job creators than the fossil fuel industry creating ten times more jobs. And solar PV creates more jobs per MW of capacity than any other energy technology. According to First Solar's Mitchener "We see a highly qualified education market for PV technology developing. "Nowadays more and more universities offer classes and study paths dedicated to PV technology or semiconductors. "This is a good development which we sometimes support with training partnerships or sponsorships." In terms of skills Dr. Reddy would like more people with specific solar experience but has taken on many from the semiconductor world. "Unfortunately so many people are out of work right now so we don't suffer from a skills gap." Brad Collins executive director of ASES does not see a skills gap. "We see skilled managers migrating from other industries into these companies." Even the "spin-out" firms he says are quick to realise the value of competent management.

Looking forward it looks like a rising number of high calibre talent is being drawn to the sector which is a sign of the growing maturity of solar as a market sector and investment segment. The semi-conductor industry has a number of C-level executives moving to solar and from other high tech industries as well Collins

 concludes.

"