Massachusetts Solar Firm Gets $20 Million in Funding
Friday, October 22nd 2010 5:00 AM
By GetSolar Staff.
The Massachusetts solar development startup 1366 Technologies - spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008 - announced this week that it has raised $20 million in new funding.
The company's partners were the Korean firm Hanwha Chemical, German venture capital fund Ventizz Capital, and long-time investors Polaris Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.
The company says it'll now be able to start implementing its Direct Wafer multi-crystalline silicon wafer manufacturing process. 1366 Technologies claims that its process is far more efficient than the typical casting, blocking, squaring and sawing process that wastes a lot of silicon.
The firm's stated goal is to bring the price of solar in line with that of coal, which is generally regarded as the cheapest - though also the dirtiest - form of fossil-fuel energy. Getting solar to be as cheap as coal would revolutionize the energy industry and spur new solar developments across the country, and indeed, the world.
"We've managed expectations and steadily built our credibility. Now, with this investment, we’re moving towards manufacturing," said Frank van Mierlo, the chief executive officer of 1366 Technologies. "Our goal is to bring our transformative Direct Wafer technology into production and deliver the manufacturing innovations that will make solar electricity cheaper than coal."
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The Massachusetts solar development startup 1366 Technologies - spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008 - announced this week that it has raised $20 million in new funding.
