Nanowire technology breakthrough brings new light to high-efficiency solar modules

Solriktas CEO Erik Smith stated: "Today's achievement is by far the most important for Sol Voltaics. The production of solar nanowires using Aerotaxy technology is the key to the manufacture of SolFilm. The top and bottom wires of nanowire growth have the opposite Doping distribution, which makes each nanowire a full-function solar cell, ie, a wire-length pn junction, regardless of whether component manufacturers use our products independently to increase efficiency and reduce costs, or to use it to enhance existing technologies. We believe that SolFilm will open a new era of solar energy conversion efficiency, which not only brings great value to solar manufacturers, but also to solar energy companies and consumers."

In recent years, the trend of increasing solar energy efficiency with the increase of economic scale has decreased significantly, and the annual average efficiency of traditional components has increased by only 0.2-0.3%. Many emerging efficiency-enhancing technologies are expensive and lack stability or reliability. In contrast, SolFilm can build economically viable bridges for solar panel manufacturers, using proven materials to achieve unprecedented efficiencies.

SolFilm is a lightweight, convenient photonic film consisting of billions of gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowires facing the Sun. Each nanowire is a complete solar cell that can directly convert high-energy sunlight into electricity. Previously used in space and concentrating solar projects, gallium arsenide has long been favored by the mainstream solar industry. However, so far, due to its high manufacturing cost, it has not yet been economically feasible for the manufacture of large-scale solar panels. Nanowires manufactured using the Aerotaxy® process significantly reduce the amount of GaAs required and do not require crystallized support wafers, which significantly reduces material costs. Recent research results show that Sol Voltaics has achieved a technological leap: while reducing the price of solar energy, it has unprecedentedly increased the power of traditional solar cell components.

Last year, Sol Voltaics was the first company to successfully arrange nanowires in films. It was recently named "Best Company of the Year" by the prestigious Rapidus Award in recognition of the company's outstanding innovation and its great potential for future success. The company also completed a record $17 million in new financing last year, including investments from the Swedish Energy Agency and the EU's 2020 Horizon Research and Innovation program.