Sol Voltaics, a Sweden based solar cell nanowire materials start up, has secured $21.3m in a funding round to commercialize SolFilm that increases efficiency of solar panels by 50%.
SolFilm is a patented, low cost thin-film which is comprised of billions of highly efficient Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) nanowires, enables solar panel manufacturers to reach efficiencies of up to 27% when integrated as a tandem-junction module.
Sol Voltaics is currently in the final stages of technology optimization and the samples of SolFilm will be sent to its partners by the end of 2018.
Sol Voltaics CEO Erik Smith said: “This latest round of finance gives us the critical capital required to commercialize our efficiency boosting technology for the solar market.
“Having achieved our final major technology milestone with Aerotaxy earlier this year, we are now fully focused on reaching mass production of SolFilm. I’d like to thank our investors, both existing and new, for backing our vision and helping bring this revolutionary technology to the mass market.”
In the latest round, the company has received funding from Norwegian company Watrium, alongside previous investors Kagra Gruppen, Nordic VC firm Industrifonden, FAM AB, Nano Future Invest, Blue Marlin AB and Teknoinvest.
The investment brings total funding raised to $38m in the past 12 months, following the company’s $17m funding round in 2016.