UK organic solar firm reveals strategy

Dan Rogers - 11 Feb 2011

London-based organic solar cell start-up Solar Press has announced its strategy for low-cost device production.

The company presented its plan to develop organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials and designs by 2013 at an event for plastic electronics businesses organised by UK technology industry association Intellect.

Solar Press CTO Jonathan Halls explained the company's plans to launch its first products in 2013, once it has scaled up its processes and secured production for commercially viable, low-cost devices.

The company was making its first public presentation since being launched in 2009, at the Plastic Electronics Conference: Overcoming market and financial barriers on 10 February in London.

Halls states: 'We aim to bring low-cost solar technology to market quickly. Solar Press is a fabless manufacturer using conventional print industry methods.'

Bill of materials

Solar Press is focused on the low-cost element of solar cell manufacture, by reducing the bill of materials - particular the most expensive elements in the list: the substrate and electrode, and the active layer.

Alternative materials, such as aluminium and silver cathodes to replace lithium fluoride layers in solar cell structures, are intended to reduce cost at both the purchasing and processing stages, as they will eschew the need for vacuum processing steps. These efforts will move cell production costs closer to the $1/W level widely pursued in the solar industry.

Performance will be proven to levels that meet near-term demand - for instance, Halls says 1W modules would allow solar-powered lighting devices to be manufactured for the developing world, where grid connection can be scarce.

Production

The company is now in the process of placing orders for roll-to-roll equipment to prove continuous production.

As the company intends to commercialise without establishing fabrication facilities, suitable sites will need to be identified for production.

Halls adds: 'We'll outsource manufacturing, as there is a lot of scope in making this technology work with existing machinery. We'll rent time and space at a site, and print cells to sell on to OEMs.'

Solar Press aims to scale up processing in 2011-12, and then move into manufacturing scale-up and field trials in 2013.

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