US-based Innovalight, a private firm that sells silicon ink-based solar cell materials and technology, said it has raised US$18 million of additional capital to expand production.
This latest investment round was led by Singapore’s Economic Development Board Investments (EDBI). Vertex Venture Holdings, the venture subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, also took part.
“With its elegant and cost-effective technological platform to improve performance of silicon-based photovoltaics, Innovalight is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the fast growing solar market,” said EDBI chief executive Chu Swee-Yeok.
“Innovalight fits well with EDBI’s investment interest in promising growth-stage clean-technology companies globally, and helping them grow their business and operations in Asia through Singapore.”
Innovalight said in a statement that all its existing investors - Apax Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Convexa Capital, Harris & Harris Group, Sevin Rosen Funds and Triton Ventures also participated in the round.
Innovalight’s proprietary nanotechnology-based technologies allow crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturers to dramatically boost output capacity, solar cell performance as well as reduce costs with a simplified additional step to existing manufacturing lines.
The opportunity is significant - crystalline silicon solar cell technology accounts for 86% of the commercial solar panel market today, according to Paula Mints, principal analyst for Navigant Consulting, Inc., a leading solar industry research firm.
“This new injection of capital will allow Innovalight to expand sufficiently to support our numerous customer engagements,” said Conrad Burke, president and chief executive officer. “We are delighted to add EDB Investments and Vertex Venture Holdings to our already strong syndicate of investors,” he added.
Innovalight recently announced record 18 per cent conversion efficiency with their silicon ink solar cell platform.
The industry standard size solar cell results were independently certified by two of the world’s recognized solar cell testing centers, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany.
The company has a development roadmap to ultimately bring conversion efficiencies of solar cells over 20 per cent with their platform silicon ink and processing technologies.
