Driving Down Solar Costs with Beans and Cotton
February 23, 2010 Leave a Comment
BioSolar has a new idea for making solar even more sustainable: Make the back sheets, that support silicon solar cells, from organic materials.
Economical
As David Lee, PhD, President and CEO of BioSolar said, their mission is to make solar energy truly sustainable.
“We cannot depend on government incentives for ever,” he said. “We need to make solar production economically viable. This product makes it cleaner and cheaper.”
Dr. Lee pointed out that the solar cells themselves are unlikely to see dramatic cost reductions, while the “non-active materials” that support the cells, making it possible to mount them and to connect them to the grid or battery, are ripe for the kind of cost reduction that could make solar competitive even without government subsidies. His remarks were supported by a new report from Lux Research, Driving Down Solar Costs: Non-active Material Opportunities, which noted that while active semiconductor materials get a lot of attention, the “lesser-known non-active materials significantly impact module efficiency, and account for 15% to 48% of module manufacturing costs.”
Technology
Instead of creating more pollution from the petroleum products that many backsheets are made from, Dr. Lee and his CTO, Stanley B. Levy, PhD looked to find an alternative. Through the advanced manipulation of bio-based polymers, BioSolar intends to produce robust bio-based components that meet the stringent thermal and durability requirements of current solar cell manufacturing processes. BioSolar materials can be used directly in conventional manufacturing systems, such as injection molding and thin-film roll-to-roll, to create superstrate layer, substrate layer, backsheet as well as module and panel components. Whether solar cells are produced using crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon or other solar technologies, BioSolar can help reduce the cost per watt through the use of its lower cost bio-based materials. By removing petroleum from solar cells, BioSolar makes solar energy a true green source of energy.
BioSolar’s process uses castor beans or cotton recycled from manufacturing scraps, to develop a comprehensive line of bio-based films and resins. Since the company builds products to their customer’s specification, they expect to manufacture their products close to their customers. Currently, they are using contract manufacturing as they ramp up to scale, primarily on the East Coast.
Dr. Levy, who invented the process, relied on his experience in film development from his 27 years at DuPont working on films such as Teflon, Mylar and Kapton, along with his experience consulting for solar companies like Global Solar, MiaSole, and Solar Integrated Technologies.
Company
BioSolar, Inc. is a public company trading on the NASDAQ Over-the-counter Bulletin Board market (the OTCBB). The trading symbol for BioSolar is “BSRC” or “BSRC.OB”. For more information, please visit their website.