According to Ascent Solar Technologies, DARPA selected its team for an award under its Low-Cost Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics solicitation, which will start off with an 18-month first phase with a contract value estimated to be about $3.8 million.
"The outcome of the program dovetails nicely with our existing technology improvement pathway for our flexible thin film monolithically integrated CIGS-based PV modules at 20 percent module efficiency for the Department of Defense (DoD)," said Ascent CEO Farhad Moghadam.
The entire three-phase program will last for an estimated 54 months, according to the company's announcement. The project is seeking to develop photovoltaic materials with a power conversion efficiency of 20 percent which can also stand up against battle conditions and harsh weather.
A number of other companies are working on advanced photovoltaic materials that will be incorporated into building designs, electronic products and other things in the coming years.
