Why: Conventional solar power is still too expensive to compete with fossil fuels, in part because of the cost of manufacturing silicon-based solar cells.

Key innovation: Developed a cheaper method for making silicon wafers, the most expensive component of a solar module.

Technology:

The process that 1366 has developed makes it possible to mold solar wafers—the thin sheets of silicon that serve as the core of a solar cell—directly from molten silicon rather than cutting them from larger ingots or crystals, which can waste up to half the material. The company has also developed a method for manufacturing solar cells that increases the amount of light the cell can absorb by reducing the area that’s shaded by electron-conducting wires and by decreasing the amount of light reflected off the surface. Increasing the light absorption helps increase the power output of the cell, effectively decreasing the cost per watt.

Market:

The company claims that its technology will reduce the cost of making silicon wafers by over 70 percent and is compatible with equipment currently used in solar-cell manufacturing.

Strategy:

Government grants helped 1366 demonstrate the viability of its molding process in the lab. The company will now build a commercial manufacturing facility and plans to sell equipment to existing manufacturers around the world (Korean Hanwha Chemical is an investor and promises to be an early client). It has also begun commercializing its solar-cell design.

Challenges and Next Steps:

The company says its silicon molding process and improvements to solar cells could help cut the cost of solar power in half, but both technologies still have to be proved at a commercial scale.