Ascent selected by US Air Force for advanced flexible lightweight PV

USA: Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. has been selected for an Air Force Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 2 award to demonstrate a next-generation photovoltaic product that builds upon its award-winning flexible monolithically integrated copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) technology.

Subject to contract finalization, the Air Force SBIR Phase 2 program is expected to run 24 months with a program value of up to $750,000.

“Solar cells perform best at lower temperatures, but they can get hot during normal operation,” stated Victor Lee, president and CEO at Ascent Solar. “Modifying our existing technology can improve its performance at higher temperatures. This Air Force program builds upon significant work already conducted by our team in this area. After program completion, we envision a new product that will perform over 30 percent better under some operating conditions that utilize process modifications that can be used in our existing manufacturing line.”