For example, Solexant, a California company, recently reported on $41.5 million it had raised in a financing round led by Olympus Capital Partners and a couple of other investment entities.
The company uses a "roll to roll" manufacturing technique to produce nanocrystal ultrathin photovoltaic cells, a technology that is said to be the first of its kind in the solar industry. The method is said to allow lower labor costs and more efficient use of equipment space.
"Solexant's winning combination of breakthrough technology and manufacturing coupled with the management team's ability to prove the commercial application of its nanocrystal ultrathin-film solar cell technology in a very capital-efficient way, impressed us immediately and maps ideally to our investment strategy," said Rami Elkhatib, general partner of Olympus Capital Partners.
The company noted that its technology was developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and that the products, printed on CdTe nanocrystals, will be heading to the market in the next few years.
