Intelligence Brief
Semprius chosen for a grant
11 September 2009
Durham, North Carolina-based semiconductor technology company Semprius is among the 14 companies to be awarded a grant from the 2009 North Carolina Green Business Fund (NCGBF).
Semprius, which has received $99,486, has been chosen for the development of silicone-on-glass lens array for CPV modules. In total, the fund, established in 2007, has allocated grants worth $950,000. The NCGBF awards competitive grants to North Carolina organisations with projects focused on three priority areas. One of the disciplines is clean technology and renewable energy.
The core of Semprius technology is micro-transfer printing. This patented process enables the parallel transfer of many pre-formed circuit elements from a source semiconductor wafer to almost any other substrate. In June this year, Semprius, which is developing CPV modules for large-scale solar power generation, had closed a $6.4 million Series B round of venture funding. According to the company, its proprietary micro-transfer printing technology enables CPV modules constructed from a large array of very small gallium arsenide-based, multi-junction solar cells. Module cost is minimised by using high concentration ratio.
The initial focus of Semprius’ technology is on the production of low cost, high performance solar modules for utility scale power generation. The Series B funding is being used to complete development and begin field deployment of solar modules to selected customers.
