Shareholders Update.
From the beginning, Natcore’s scientific team has been focused on knowing the direction and needs of the solar industry. We have always tried to ensure that our work is directed towards commercialization, the factory floor and not merely science projects and white papers.
Natcore’s recent participation at the 6th World Conference on Photovoltaics in Kyoto, Japan, as well as our meeting with the Sharp Corporation, reinforced our positioning.
The presentations at the Kyoto conference as well as the Sharp meetings were consistent with respect to two major shifts in the solar industry. The first is the industry moving to n-type wafers for cell production. The n-type wafer does not experience the significant light induced degradation that exists with p-type wafers. This induces a gradual loss of power over the life of the solar panel. The second shift in the industry is a major advance in the Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer cell (HIT). This cell had been exclusively produced commercially by Sanyo/Panasonic. Now that the patents have expired, manufacturing lines are beginning to adapt this HIT cell technology. This cell incorporates thin layers of amorphous silicon on both sides of an n-type wafer. A variation of this amorphous silicon cell was co-invented at RCA laboratories by Dr. David Carlson, now a member of Natcore’s Science Advisory board. HIT cells made with all back contacts will be pushing efficiencies to the 25% + range.
Natcore is in a leading position with these technologies to make a paradigm shift in solar cell manufacturing for two reasons: Natcore’s work on black silicon anti-reflection control on n-type wafers; and Our work on laser processed interdigitated back contacts (IBC) also on n-type wafers.
Both Sharp and Panasonic used very expensive multiple photolithographic processing steps to make these super high efficiency HIT cells but neither company has any plans to take the process into production because of the expense involved. Natcore’s development of laser-processed interdigitated back contacts eliminates the issue of high cost and is exactly what is needed to enable production of these super efficiency HIT cells.
We are in a unique position by being able to combine our black silicon anti-reflection control technology with our laser-processed interdigitated back contact technology to create super-efficient HIT cell structures at lower cost. We are truly at the front edge of the technology needed by the industry.
Everything we do at Natcore is driven towards revenue. These two applications as well as our best-of breed consulting program move us closer to income every day.
I hope this discussion was not too technical but I felt some of the information was necessary to be shared.
On another note, we will be closing our small private placement shortly. We have other plans for a more substantive financing that will be discussed as we get closer to deciding specific directions and benefits to our shareholders.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Best,
Charles R. Provini
President & CEO
Natcore Technology, Inc.
87 Maple Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-576-8800, fax 732-576-8809
Email: provini@natcoresolar.com
www.natcoresolar.com
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