Letter from Charles R. Provini
Dear Don,
We are quickly approaching the end of the year and I thought it would be appropriate to recap all the progress we have made in 2014 and give you some insight into our expectations for 2015.
In particular, I would like to update everyone with respect to our progress with our Black Silicon application, all back-contact laser cells and best-of-breed consulting business.
Natcore attracted the interest of the National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL) with respect to their black silicon discoveries because Natcore’s technology had better results in passivating black silicon than NREL could achieve. Passivation is a process that removes or reduces the impact of defects on a silicon surface. This is particularly important in black silicon, since the black silicon is created by etching nano-scale pores into the silicon surface, in essence creating very small, very sharp mountains.
We tasked Fraunhofer ISE — one of the world’s most respected independent research groups — to help us optimize this passivation process. Based on successful results from their testing, we identified two promising areas for future work and specific direction. The first was putting black silicon on multicrystalline wafers for rapid insertion into the manufacturing process. The second was the passivation of black silicon on monocrystalline substrates or surfaces for the development of advanced cell structures.
Because of these passivation successes, we are now entering into a second phase with Fraunhofer to develop, work and refine these technologies. The second phase is specific to integrating black silicon into manufacturing lines. As you may remember, we have already demonstrated the effectiveness and suitability of our black silicon application by incorporating it into an existing line at a major Chinese manufacturer. We felt, however, that we could move more rapidly by working with Fraunhofer than exclusively with a manufacturing facility that has, as their primary motivation, making solar cells.
Importantly, we have also recently identified the most effective ways to use our laser process to create all-back-contact solar cells. We have had great success specifically in defining the necessary criteria to manufacture this highly efficient type of solar cell. The next step is to actually create an all-back-contact cell using our innovative laser process. Once accomplished, this will create a completely-low-temperature cell with a maximum process temperature of only 350° C. This will truly revolutionize how solar cells are made.
Our scientific team has been working diligently on further optimization of laser parameters and continually testing methodologies, and we expect to see exciting results very shortly.
Our "Best-of-Breed" product continues to generate great interest from a number of companies and countries, with the most recent discussions occurring with one of the largest cell manufacturers in India. So far, we have had discussions or proposals with groups from Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, the Philippines, Costa Rica and India. The discussions and proposals, although similar, differ from place to place. The common thread, however, is that Natcore would act as a consultant on the building of a solar cell or solar module facility, or a solar power plant, on a “cost-plus” basis. In exchange, these companies or countries would receive some type of exclusive rights to our technologies as they come online.
There is a tremendous void in the solar industry with respect to technology. New manufacturers are anxious to enter the field because of the many mandates by countries to increase alternative energy in general and solar specifically. However, these new entrants typically lack the expertise and experience to implement their plans most effectively.
I hope this helps explain some of the successes we have had. I assure you we are moving as quickly as possible towards commercial revenue, and look forward to delivering some exciting news to you in this regard in the New Year.
Please accept the best wishes of the entire Natcore team for a happy, healthy and prosperous holiday season and New Year for you and all your loved ones.
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
