A Lexington, Massachusetts-based silicon photovoltaic solar panel cell company has partnered with wet chemical applications company specializing in photovoltaics and semiconductors to create a new high-efficiency cell that will reduce costs associated with solar energy.

1366 Technologies announced earlier this week that it would be partnering with RENA GmnH to incorporate their Self-Aligned Cell technology into the cell production process by integrating its proprietary structured patterning with RENA's established wet processing technology.

The result of combining the two technologies is expected to be a "significant" improvement in absolute cell efficiency that can be utilized for both mono- and multi-crystalline solar panel wafers to give manufacturers new options.

"RENA is one of the leading PV technology companies in the world. This partnership validates the effectiveness of our Self-Aligned Cell technology, opens up new sales channels for us and dramatically compresses our time to market," said Frank van Mierlo, 1366 Technologies' president.

Hartmut Nussbaumer, the managing director of RENA, added that the partnership and combination of the two company's technologies would "provide customers with higher-performing cells."

1366 Technologies was initially developed by a team of experts that included Dr. Emanuel Sachs, an MIT professor and a leader in the photovoltaic industry.