Silfab Solar is one of seven recipients of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) for projects that rely on dual-use PV technologies to electrify buildings, decarbonize the transportation sector and reduce land use conflicts.
In recent weeks, the U.S. government has announced loans and financing to strengthen the domestic solar supply chain, which will also secure jobs, stimulate local economies and support national security interests.
Most recently, the DoE announced a $71 million investment, including $16 million from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for research and development projects aimed at addressing early gaps in the solar energy supply chain. Silfab Solar is one of seven recipients of funding for projects aimed at advancing dual-use PV technologies to electrify buildings, decarbonize the transportation sector and reduce land use conflicts.
Silfab Solar, a Toronto-based solar cell and module manufacturer with a factory in South Carolina, has been awarded $5 million for a project that will develop back-contact n-type cells to demonstrate efficiencies of 26% or better.
Silfab Solar is developing the cells on a 300 MW pilot line, which will operate alongside the main n-type cell production at the South Carolina facility.
The company said the project will enable the rapid scale-up of cost-effective back-contact cell technology to large-scale production of its next line of solar panels.
The company said it did in September 2023 Invest $150 million at a cell manufacturing site in York County, South Carolina. It is expected to have an annual capacity of 1 GW of cell production and 1.2 GW of module production.
The project won a $2 million set-aside grant from the York County Coordinating Council for Economic Development.
The DoE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) also selected Silfab Solar for a separate innovation award for further development of high-efficiency building-integrated PV (BIPV) modules.
The modules feature opaque glass and can be used in glass surfaces between floors of commercial buildings, where transparent glass windows are not required. The $500,000 project will be demonstrated at Silfab Solar’s Washington facility.
“Silfab Solar is leading the U.S. integration of innovative solar cells and modules by investing in research and development that allows us to deliver the most advanced, powerful and reliable solar PV for commercial, residential and soon BIPV customers,” said Silfab. Solar President and CEO Paolo Maccario. “The DoE awards are a testament to Silfab’s commitment to innovation and the strength of our engineering team to make significant progress in solar energy technologies.”
The SETO program requires grantees to provide community benefits at project sites. To that end, Silfab Solar has embarked on several efforts, including a series of workforce development initiatives and school programs to encourage youth to consider careers in renewable energy.
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