Flat Panel Technology Boosts Solar Efficiency

Hewlett-Packard may be known best for computer equipment but, with the help of Oregon State University, the company has developed a technique that can potentially help double the efficiency of modern solar panels. HP is licensing that technology to Xtreme Energetics, a California company hoping to have a first-generation solar array available for utility companies within a year.

The patent that Xtreme Energetics is licensing is related to the technology used to create flat-panel displays. HP developed a transparent transistor that will allow solar arrays to effectively bend light to collect a higher yield of solar energy. Xtreme Energetics has a limited license to use the technology solely in solar energy development; the license does not include applications for flat panel monitors and other displays.

Xtreme Energetics has investigated the possibility of using mechanical trackers to perform the same light-focusing duties as other solar array manufacturers have. However, HP’s transparent transistor can do the job electronically, rather than mechanically, and significantly reduce the costs of such an installation. Such a solar array is known as a concentrating photovoltaic (or CPV) solar array. To date, CPV arrays are fairly expensive and cannot store energy, making them less useful. They also work best in specific sections of the world — those with the highest levels of solar radiation, such as the southwest United States and northern Africa.

The company intends to build a multilayered solar panel containing the transistor, a high efficiency solar cell and a light concentrator. The whole system will be effectively transparent, allowing companies to put various designs and patterns — such as logos — on the panels, before mounting them on rooftops and sides of buildings. So not only will a company be able to power its business with an Xtreme Energetics solar array, it will also have the option of using the panels for advertising!

Xtreme Energetics is in the process of raising venture capital. Currently, the company is in the middle of a series A round of venture funding expected to raise $5 million, and is planning for a series B round to raise an additional $35 million. Xtreme Energetics has yet to build a product, or even a prototype, but there’s plenty of buzz in the solar energy sector about similar technology. To obtain the license from HP, Xtreme Energetics agreed to pay royalties, although the specifics of the deal are still unknown. Recently, HP has been more open to licensing its technology to industries unrelated to HP’s main businesses.

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