Solar Junction, IQE negotiate solar cell deal with European Space Agency

Apr 22, 2013 - US concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) maker Solar Junction Corp and its UK partner IQE (LON:IQE) are in contract negotiation with the European Space Agency to develop for the latter next-generation satellite solar cells.

“Our dilute nitride technology and high-efficiency roadmap is a proven and sustainable pathway for present and future space and terrestrial applications, ” the US company’s CEO Jim Weldon said in a press release on Monday. The contract with the space agency shows that the partners are on the right path, he added.

Further details on the contract negotiations were not provided.

Solar Junction in October 2012 said its multi-junction CPV solar cells had set an efficiency record of 44% at 947 suns concentration. The company said the record was yet another proof of the superiority of its Adjustable Spectrum Lattice Matched (A-SLAM) materials, which help deliver the most efficient conversion of sunlight into electricity.

Semiconductor wafers maker IQE in February 2012 agreed to acquire a 9% stake in Solar Junction and also unveiled an exclusive wafer supply agreement with the US firm. Through the investment, IQE became a strategic and exclusive epitaxy partner of the target and its partner in developing CPV technology, which is based on the concentration of sunlight onto small multi-junction cells that Solar Junction manufactures at its San Jose, California facility.

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