Semprius secures $20 million in funding for production of advanced solar modules

DURHAM, USA: Semprius, Inc., a leading innovator in high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar modules, recently secured $20 million in its first tranche of Series C venture fundraising.

Siemens Venture Capital led the investment round and was joined by ARCH Venture Partners, Applied Ventures, Illinois VENTURES, Intersouth Partners, In-Q-Tel and GVC Investment. Semprius will use the funding to construct a pilot HCPV module production plant, which will allow the company to scale up and optimize its process for subsequent large-capacity plants.

“Demand for CPV is expected to grow exponentially over the next several years to greater than 6 gigawatts by 2020,” said Joe Carr, president and CEO. “Semprius modules offer the superior conversion efficiency, low cost and high reliability needed for our customers to meet this demand and are a perfect option for achieving grid parity with fossil-based electricity.”

Semprius builds its modules using novel processes that combine extremely tiny solar cells with low-cost, efficient optics that concentrate the incoming sunlight more than 1,000 times. Despite the high level of concentration, Semprius modules remain cool for improved long-term reliability and performance.

In addition to its highly efficient cell technology (greater than 40 percent NREL-certified), Semprius utilizes an automated manufacturing process, leveraging standard manufacturing equipment and commodity materials, to dramatically reduce capital and labor costs.

“Semprius modules have been under on-sun testing for several years now with excellent field performance,” said Carr. “From our proprietary micro-cell technology to the enclosure and everything in between, we’ve designed our modules to be efficient, low-cost and reliable.”