Solar Frontier, a developer and manufacturer of thin-film solar technology, has signed an agreement with IBM to create a cost competitive product that is inexpensive and uses earth-abundant materials.
The development process will combine IBM's research proficiencies with Solar Frontier's production abilities. Solar Frontier currently has two manufacturing facilities with a third becoming operational in 2011. At 900MW, the third plant will become the world's largest photovoltaic production facility.
TC Chen, vice president of science and technology at IBM Research said, 'Adding Solar Frontier's deep expertise in thin-film-based solar device technology to this project with strengthen the collaborative effort we began in this area with Tokyo Ohka Kogyo for developing chemistry and tooling expertise.'
The technology, known as CZTS, will be based on using the elements copper, zinc, tin, sulphur, and selenium - lighter metals that are available at lower costs.
'This team will significantly increase our ability to create CZTS photovoltaic technology that achieves sustainable grid parity,' Chen said.
The goal of this joint development project is to create next generation solar technology that lowers the expense of producing electricity, enabling solar energy to become an omnipresent alternative to carbon-based energy sources.
The research for the project will mainly take place at IBM's Thomas Watson Research Centre in Yorktown Heights, New York.
For more read : Energy Harvesting and Storage for Electronic Devices 2010-2020
