Hutchings, Silicon Solar Solutions Receive DOE Grant for $500,000
by October 22, 2013 1:38 pm 149 views
Silicon Solar Solutions Inc., a Genesis Technology Incubator client at the University of Arkansas, has been awarded a $500,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Energy to further fund the company’s efforts to produce cost-effective solar energy.
An official announcement was made Wednesday, Oct. 23, at a news conference, with Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe and University of Arkansas Chancellor David Gearhart in attendance.
Silicon Solar Solution’s invention is aimed at improving the efficiency of solar panels, which could save panel manufacturers more than $100 million each year.
In a company news release, Silicon Solar Solutions CEO Douglas Hutchings said the grant will help secure additional capital to move out of the laboratory and toward actual production.
Silicon Solar Solutions, founded by Hutchings in 2008, is the first company in Arkansas and one of only 17 companies in the United States to be awarded the SunShot Incubator Grant.
SunShot, according to the release, is a collaborative national effort that drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade.
A hydrogen selective emitter invented by Silicon Solar Solutions’ chief technology officer Seth Shumate could improve solar cell efficiency by 15 percent, reducing the manufacturing cost per watt and making the panels more affordable for consumers.
“This could be a solution to a $5 billion problem in a $32 billion industry,” said Hutchings, a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Fast 15 Class in 2012.
The company’s next move, Hutchings said, is to raise $2 million from private investors or partners. The hydrogen selective emitter will be marketed through Picasolar Inc. The two companies share the same senior management and board of directors as Silicon Solar Solutions.