Published: February 07, 2011
Cadmium Telluride Single Junction Solar Cell Results by EPIR and NREL Team: Breakthrough Fill Factor Achieved
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - EPIR Technologies, Inc. announced today that they have repeatedly
fabricated high efficiency polycrystalline cadmium telluride (CdTe)
solar cells on commercial glass substrates. According to Dr. Siva
Sivananthan, founder and CEO of EPIR Technologies, "EPIR has been
collaborating closely with a team of scientists from National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL). Together we developed a CdTe solar cell with a
maximum of 15.2% efficiency." Dr. Sivananthan added, "The combination of
EPIR's expertise in CdTe materials and NREL's expertise in CdTe solar
cell device technology has empowered us to achieve these excellent
results in a short timeframe."
According to Dr. Chollada Gilmore, EPIR's CdTe Solar Cell Technical
Lead, "Our champion cell efficiency was officially verified by NREL at
15.2 % efficiency. The high efficiency was driven by a fill factor of
77.6%, which is one of the highest fill factor values ever recorded for
this type of solar cell. These results are significant because our solar
cells were fabricated using inexpensive commercial TEC-series glass
substrates as opposed to technical-grade glass which is commonly used in
champion cell fabrication."
Dr. Timothy Coutts, NREL Fellow Emeritus and founder of the Device
Development Group at NREL, stated, "This achievement elevates EPIR to
the very small group of solar companies and research facilities that
have reproducibly fabricated CdTe solar cells with greater than 15%
efficiency. This clearly validates EPIR's expertise in CdTe solar cell
growth and fabrication."
Dr. Timothy Gessert, Principal Scientist and Group Manager of the NREL
CdTe Research Group stated, "This is an important advancement for CdTe
thin-film PV technology because it not only surpasses the previous best
result that was published for commercial soda-lime glass by a clear
margin (14.4% was the previous best result on commercial soda-lime
glass), but all the layers incorporated into this new device structure
are consistent with present commercial manufacturing processes."
EPIR Technologies, Inc. is a pioneer of single crystal II-VI
photovoltaic materials and a global leader in the field of infrared
sensors and imaging.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
including, but not limited to, statements as to future operating results
and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. We use words such as
"expects" , "anticipates" , "believes" , "estimates" , the negative of these
terms and similar expressions to identify forward looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

EPIR Technologies
Dr. Paul Boieriu
630/771-0203
cell:
630/842-0893
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