EIKOS
RECEIVES A $1.5 MILLION DEPARTMENT
OF
ENERGY SOLAR CELL CONTRACT
The original Department of Energy (DOE)
grant, Award No. DE-FG36-05GO85035 received in 2005, was the
result of the efforts of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA).
Together with its research partner, the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Eikos demonstrated in the first research
phase of the contract that Invisicon® is a
suitable replacement for traditional transparent conductors, including
ITO/PEDOT:PSS in organic solar cells and zinc oxide in
Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) cells.
The motivation for replacing metal oxide based
transparent conductive coatings (TCC) is their inherent brittleness, expensive
deposition cost and relatively high deposition temperatures, leading to reduced
conductivity and optical transparency performance on plastic.
Alternatively, carbon nanotube - based TCC overcome all these
shortcomings while offering the ability to be applied in existing, very low
cost, plastic film processing equipment such as continuous roll-to-roll
coating.
“The solar industry is closely monitoring our exciting
research efforts, since our work could enable applications and lower costs for solar
energy projects in the near future,” explains Joe Piche, CEO of Eikos.
“Representative McGovern is not only helping bring jobs to
About Eikos
Eikos, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of highly
transparent carbon nanotube inks for conductive coatings and circuits for use
in solar cells, flat panel displays, OLED lighting, smart windows and other
established markets. Eikos’ patented Invisicon®
transparent conductors (‘nanowires’) will enable high volume, low cost
production of a thinner, more flexible and more durable conductive coating
technology that will displace Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Zinc Oxide, PEDOT/PSS,
and other transparent conductors. A privately held company headquartered
in Franklin Massachusetts, Eikos has a number of licenses and development
contracts with major global companies,