Konarka Raises $23.8 Million For 3rd Generation Flexible Solar Technology

Konarka's revolutionary 3rd generation flexible solar technology has been in the making for the past 9 years and has received over $150 million dollars in financing. The company hasn't produced a product yet, but it has raised an additional $23.8 million dollars. [Konarka SEC Filing] The new money could signal it's solar film is close to being market ready. After reading about the technology, I'm sure you'll come to agree the company is posed for success.

The company is based on Dr. Alan Heeger's (also a co-founder) discovery and development of conducive polymers that won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000. Konarka has over 350 patents for the solar technology, also known as Power Plastic, that can be printed like newspapers on a giant roll. If that's not impressive, Power Plastic is also made entirely of recyclable materials.

To understand why this product is revolutionary take a look at the brief history of solar technology and how Konarka's Power Plastic differs:

1st Generation Solar:

• Base off of Crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) technology
• Developed 50 years ago in Bell Labs in New Jersey
• Based on silicon wafers, the technology has gained market penetration (think rooftop solar panels)
• The technology is fragile and thus limits applications
• Scale-up potential is limited due to high labor and energy production costs (the actual silicon material represents up to 60% of the manufacturing cost)
• Silicon supply is finite

2nd Generation Solar:

• Known as thin film solar technology
• Can be manufactured on flexible foil, but it is less efficient than 1st generation solar technologies
• There are questions as to whether the manufacturing process produces toxic materials that could remain toxic even after the product's life cycle
• Low cost power has not been realized

3rd Generation Solar - Power Plastic:

• Estimated that the technology will be more efficient than 1st and 2nd generation
• "Konarka’s roll-to-roll process simplifies manufacturing scale-up and has significantly lower capital and labor costs than previous generations of solar cells."
• Non-toxic and environmentally friendly production process
• Can be produced using existing printing and coating machines
• Existing plants can be used to produce the solar film, further reducing costs by eliminating need to build new facilities
• Easier to build into applications

Pretty cool, huh?

Perhaps Konarka can help reduce losses in the printing industry by purchasing all their equipment and facilities.

[Discovered on GreenBeat, produced by VentureBeat - one of my favorite blogs.]