Investors are pouring money into solar nanotech startups, hoping that thinking small will translate into big profits. Both inventors and investors are betting that flexible sheets of tiny solar cells used to harness the sun's strength will ultimately provide a cheaper, more efficient source of energy than the current smorgasbord of alternative and fossil fuels. Power Nanotech is developing solar solutions in nanotechnology and will position itself for growth through acquisition.
Watch the CNN video Nanosys and Nanosolar in Palo Alto, along with Konarka in Lowell, Mass. say their research will result in thin rolls of highly efficient light-collecting plastics spread across rooftops or built into building materials. These rolls, the companies say, will be able to provide energy for prices as low as the electricity currently provided by utilities, which averages $1 per watt.
Other uses of nanotechnology foreseen by Konarka, Nanosolar and Nanosys include form-fitting plastic batteries for electronic devices like cell phones and laptops. While all three companies provide prototypes for large corporate research labs and government agencies, company representatives and investors are reticent to predict when nanotechnology-powered solar systems will be commercially available. Industry watchers, however, say that achieving mass production of these products may take five years or longer.
Major investments
Despite the lack of commercial product availability, Konarka, Nanosolar and Nanosys have collectively raised more than $120 million since 2001, the year all three companies were founded. Recent investments include $7 million in debt financing for Konarka in June, making its total funding to date $38.5 million. Nanosolar recently announced more financial support in a Series B round of funding that secured $20 million in May. With previous investments of $7.25 million, it has secured a total of $27.25 million.
Both Konarka and Nanosolar have said they plan to use the money for new research and development facilities. Nanosys, which cited poor market conditions as the reason for withdrawing its IPO in August, has raised $55 million to date. The company's last round of funding in April 2003 secured $30 million. Venture capitalist excitement for these new technologies reflects growth in the solar energy market as whole, say industry experts.
"The technology is maturing, and the industry is maturing. British Petroleum, Shell and the oil companies are all in this field," said David Wooley, vice president of the nonprofit Energy Foundation in San Francisco, a research group funded by major charitable trusts but not affiliated with utilities or energy producers.
Market is Significant
A study released by the Energy Foundation suggests that the United States could produce 2,900 new megawatts of solar power by 2010 and enough to power 500,000 homes if the cost is significantly reduced. The Energy Foundation report also says that solar energy could furnish much of the nation's electricity if available residential and commercial rooftops were fully utilized. According to the Energy Foundation, using available rooftop space could provide 710,000 megawatts across the United States, whose current electrical capacity is 950,000 megawatts.
The market is obviously huge, demand is huge. Alternative energy is imperative in the world we live in. As for recent growth in solar energy, Paula Mints, a senior analyst at the technology research firm of Strategies Unlimited in Mountain View, says that 14,000 photovoltaic megawatts were sold last year, representing 54 percent growth in the industry.
Why The Golden Age of Solar is Around the Corner
It took 20 to 25 years to commercialize conventional photovoltaics. High production costs are among the reasons solar energy hasn't become a major source of electricity. The black, glasslike photovoltaic cells that make up most solar panels are usually composed of crystalline silicon, which requires clean-room manufacturing facilities free of dust and airborne microbes. Silicon is also in short supply and increasingly expensive to produce, so high manufacturing costs are the main reason behind high wattage prices. Silicon is very capital-intensive.
With nanotechnology, tiny solar cells can be printed onto flexible, very thin light-retaining materials, bypassing the cost of silicon production.
Solar Nanotechnology will reduce the time it will take consumers to recover production and installation costs to a matter of months. In addition to being able to manufacture photovoltaic cells more quickly through printing, the companies also say that manipulating materials 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair will provide more light- collecting capabilities.
Each printed nanostructure solar cell would act as an autonomous solar collector, and sheets of these products would have more surface area to gather light than conventional photovoltaic cells. Printed rolls of solar cells would be lighter, more resilient and flexible than silicon photovoltaics.
Conclusion
It would be hard to imagine a better time to participate in Solar Nanotechnology Energy investments. The shift into a responsible development of America's resources is eminent and the current demand is ever increasing. Power Nanotech has brought all aspects of the solar industry into the 21st century with clear benefits and inherent potential for multiple commercial spin offs of the new nanotechnology applications. The financial rewards are galvanized with government incentives and tax benefits.
Over the past several years, the solar energy industry has transformed into one of the most technologically advanced industries in the United States. New innovations and cutting edge technology have reshaped the industry into a technology leader, in all segments of the industry. Power Nanotech, Inc. will play a role both in the services and as a new technology provider in the evolution of the solar nanotechnology industry, focusing on technologies in the both the research and development phase as well as the production sector.
