The race really is on to develop high efficiency, low-cost alternative energy sources. Nowhere is this more true than in the solar energy market. Photovoltaic cells are expensive, clumsy, and inefficient. Innovalight claims to be developing a new procoess that could cut costs by a factor of 10.
And judging by the recent influx of VC money, to the tune of $28 million, it seems that others like the idea too. Innovalight is working on a silicon ink process that would allow typical solar installations to go from a cost of $30-40k to $3-$4k. That kind of savings on the order of around $1/watt from $10/watt would make the idea much more viable for most applications. Now that the idea is hitting mainstream, it’s going to be just a matter of time before someone puts stuff on the market. Innovalight’s CEO stated that they should have something in production by the end of 2008 / start of 2009. We’ll keep an eye out for it.
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what is the current efficiency no pun of pv cells on the market today