“Besides smart grids, another facet of ‘green tech’ in which the Defense Department has expressed interest is the next generation of solar cell technology,” says Dr. Ashok Sood, President and CEO of Magnolia Solar, a company developing and commercializing high-efficiency, nanostructured thin-film solar cells. “As the advantages of thin-film solar cells become more widely known, their potential military applications will become clearer as well.”
The US Air Force has already awarded two Phase I contracts to Magnolia Solar: one to develop flexible, ultra-high efficiency, multi-junction solar cells for space and defense applications; and one to develop third-generation, single-junction solar cells employing quantum dot structures to improve performance. The company has also been awarded a Phase I contract from NASA as part of a program to increase solar cell current and voltage by using quantum-structured active regions and incorporating advanced light-trapping structures.
Magnolia Solar Corporation announced in November of 2011, that its wholly owned subsidiary, Magnolia Solar, Inc., recently received a $750,000 Phase II award from the United States Air Force Research Laboratory as part of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. The award will fund a two-year project to develop flexible, lightweight, ultra-high efficiency multi-junction solar cells for space power applications.
This award follows a Phase I program that demonstrated that Magnolia's approach to simultaneously increase the current and voltage output of photovoltaic devices for space power applications. The Phase II award is to optimize the device and apply advanced anti-reflective coatings to build ultra-high efficiency flexible solar power solutions for defense applications. Magnolia is building a patent portfolio around its proprietary technologies for this award and other work with government funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the National Aeronautical Space Administration. Recently Magnolia announced demonstration of several significant milestones and this award provides a pathway to support its ultimate goal of developing low-cost, high-efficiency, thin-film solar cells for commercial and defense requirements.
Dr. Ashok K. Sood stated, "Photovoltaic devices can provide a mobile source of electrical power for a variety of military applications in space and terrestrial environments. Many of these applications can directly benefit from enhancements in the efficiency of the photovoltaic devices. In particular, flexible, lightweight, high-efficiency solar cells are needed to maximize the power-generating capability of space, ground-based, and air-based defense applications. The patent-pending technology developed during this program is expected to have immediate market opportunities for defense applications. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with MicroLink Devices and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute during this Phase II program."
Dr. Roger E. Welser, Magnolia's Chief Technical Officer, observed, "Current
approaches to increase the efficiency of multi-junction structures typically
used for space power generation are reaching practical limitations due to fundamental
constraints in conventional multi-junction device design. By combining wide
and narrow bandgap material within each p-n junction, quantum-structured solar
cells can overcome these constraints and increase the current and the voltage
output of each subcell within a multi-junction solar cell. The Phase I effort
leveraged the epitaxial liftoff process developed at MicroLink Devices in Niles,
IL, and has demonstrated the validity of Magnolia's extended heterojunction
photovoltaic device concept. Ultimately our approach provides a pathway for
obtaining thin, flexible, multi-junction solar cells with efficiency approaching
40%."
About Magnolia Solar Corporation:
Based in Woburn, MA and Albany, NY, Magnolia Solar was founded in 2008 to
develop and commercialize revolutionary new thin-film solar cell technologies
that employ nanostructured materials and designs. Both higher current and voltage
outputs are expected from thin-film solar cells that combine Magnolia's exclusive
material structures with advanced optical coatings. Magnolia's patent-pending
technology has the ability to capture a larger part of the solar spectrum to
produce high efficiency solar cells, and incorporates a unique nanostructure-based
antireflection coating technology to further increase the solar cell's efficiency,
thereby reducing the cost per watt. Magnolia Solar technology targets electrical
power generation applications, such as power for electrical grids and distributed
power applications ranging from commercial and residential lighting to specialized
military applications.
Magnolia Solar—which aims to do business with a range of commercial customers
worldwide in addition to the military—hopes to achieve an efficiency greater
than 20% and a cost goal of 50 cents per watt, significantly exceeding the current
industry averages for efficiency and cost. In order to achieve these numbers,
Magnolia is innovating proprietary nanotechnology that can capture a wider band
of the solar radiation falling on the cell. The nanostructured surface of the
cell reduces the amount of light that reflects off it, essentially trapping
more light so that a greater percentage of photons are available for conversion
into electricity.
For more information please contact:
Adam Holdsworth
The Investor Relations Group
11 Stone St. 3rd Floor
New York, NY
aholdsworth@investorrelationsgroup.com
212-825-3210
