Fraunhofer ISE Partnership Aims to Develop International Solar Projects

NATCORE TECHNOLOGY | NEWS RELEASE — Natcore Technology Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy (Fraunhofer ISE), under which the two organizations would cooperate in developing solar energy projects for third party customers.

The Memorandum outlines how Natcore and Fraunhofer will work together on various areas of solar energy technology, including but not limited to:

– Consultancy and project management projects during ramp-up for customers intending to enter the field of photovoltaic production;
– Support of existing cell and module manufacturers who are optimizing their production sites;
– Promotion of innovative technologies of Fraunhofer ISE and Natcore;
– Structure joint venture research projects within the framework of national funding programs.

Fraunhofer ISE is one of the 60 institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. It is one of the most prominent international research institutions in the field of renewable energy materials, technology and systems. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is Europe’s largest research institution, and is the legal entity for Fraunhofer ISE.

On November 12, Natcore announced that it had established a consulting service to provide unbiased business and technical advice to potential new solar cell and solar panel manufacturers and to established solar manufacturers wishing to upgrade their facilities. As part of their service, Natcore will recommend a “best of breed” selection of manufacturing equipment to its clients, and will offer limited exclusivity to incorporate new technology developed by Natcore into the client facilities when such technology becomes available for commercial production.

“One of the most compelling features of our best of breed program is exclusive access to our technology,” says Natcore President and CEO Chuck Provini. “Our customers will be able to integrate our proprietary laser, black silicon, germanium quantum dot, all-back contact and all-low-temperature technologies into their production lines.

“And by teaming with Fraunhofer, we’ll differentiate ourselves from potential competitors even further,” adds Provini. “We’ll have a very muscular program.”