miasole

Who will make CIGS work for the solar sector?

I've been saying for a while, that with enough money, someone is bound to crack the CIGS nut in thin film, and deliver the cleantech sector another First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) like renaissance for the always around the corner technology.

That's not because it's easy, or even because it's a good idea to try, but when well over a billion dollars in investment pours into a given technology, something is bound to come out the other side - eventually. A seductively high efficiency potential technology with very low potential materials costs, CIGS has been just over … Read more

Miasole out, Global Solar in on solar contract

Life is just not getting better for Miasole.

Dow Chemical announced Monday that it has selected Global Solar to provide copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar cells for its solar roofing project with the Department of Energy. Last May, the Department of Energy gave Dow a three-year, $9 million grant to develop solar roofing under the Solar America program.

Global Solar Energy replaced Dow's original CIGS solar cell provider. And who was that? Miasole.

Rumors also swirl that a three-year research grant under the Solar America program made directly Miasole is coming to an end. The company received $5.8 million in … Read more

Miasole founder has new company

Dave Pearce, the founder and former CEO of thin film solar cell manufacturer Miasole, is tackling another angle of the solar economy with a new company.

The company, named Nuvosun, is trying to develop a film that will prevent moisture from penetrating, and subsequently screwing up the performance of, thin film solar panels, according to sources in the solar industry. Moisture penetration is a problem with thin film solar panels as well as organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs, so Nuvosun may ultimately have two markets. Currently, however barrier films aren't cheap.

CNET News.com contacted Pearce, but have … Read more

2007 a bit off for Kleiner Perkins' green-tech portfolio

The superheroes of venture capital haven't exactly had a completely smooth year in green tech.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers wasn't the first VC firm to get into green tech. Nth Power, NGEN Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Mohr Davidow Ventures got there first, but Kleiner brought a lot of attention and prestige into the field, and helped push green tech toward the top of the VC agenda in the second half of 2004.

The firm also began to put money into a lot of companies with a pretty good amount of fanfare. John Doerr even cried in public at the TED conference … Read more

Miasole apparently going with layoffs after all

Back in October, we called Miasole, which makes copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, about a rumor that the company cut about 50 employees and planned to close its Shanghai operation.

Founder Dave Pearce, however, said the rumors were overbaked. The company got rid of some contractors but that was about it, he wrote.

"We have recently hired a number of senior engineering, operations, and sales resources, not laid them off. We have no plans to shut down our Shanghai operations," he wrote in an e-mail to CNET News.com in October.

Today, VentureWire wrote that sources … Read more

Al Gore joins Kleiner Perkins to perk up its green push

Former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore has joined venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a partner to concentrate on green technology investments.

To date, Kleiner Perkins has had something of a mixed record when it comes to clean tech. The firm has invested in Miasole, which recently swapped CEOs and has had to delay products. It is also an investor in EEStor, a mysterious supercapacitor company that has delayed its product and is going through some management changes. The firm has also not been part of some of the early, successful IPOs in clean tech … Read more

HelioVolt raises more cash

HelioVolt, which specializes in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, has raised an additional $24 million, bringing the total injected into the company to more than $100 million. The latest investors include Sequel Venture Partners, Noventi Ventures and Passport Capital.

CIGS solar cells are not as efficient as crystalline silicon solar cells, the dominant type of cell on the market. HelioVolt's first cells will likely have an efficiency rating of 10 percent to 12 percent, meaning that they can convert 10 percent to 12 percent of the sunlight that strikes them into electricity. Commercially available silicon solar cells … Read more

Solar star Miasole gets new CEO, seeks more funds

Miasole, a notable solar start-up that has been hit with some delays, is getting retrofitted.

The company, which specializes in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells and panels, has appointed Joseph Laia as CEO and president. Laia, a veteran of the semiconductor chip equipment industry, worked most recently at KLA-Tencor.

Dave Pearce, founder and former CEO, will stay on as chairman.

"The board and I have long talked about a transition to a leader who will scale Miasole to commercial manufacturing and worldwide operations," said Pearce in a prepared statement Monday.

Sources also say that the company … Read more