Tom Scarpa replied to my e-mail. He was very polite but really there's nothing new to report. However he did clarify a few points. Firstly, the increase in efficiency work at NREL isn't very far along. Apparently some problems with different manufacturers having different specs and they need to produce a panel that will work with all of the different systems. They hope to start work with NREL very shortly. The good news is that a number of manufacturers are taking an active interest in the Bsi cells.
The specs for the second AR box are ready but they won't give Microtech the go ahead until they get a manufacturer to sign an agreement to build it. To use Tom's words they won't do it on spec. However they are hopeful that a contract will be signed "shortly". Once signed the second AR box will take 6 weeks to build.
He sounded a little cautious about when the Bsi panels will be commercially available. He pointed out a lot of the steps needed to accomplish that goal and it sounds like it might be a little further away than we would like.
On other fronts, they are expanding the research facilities in Rochester and hope to have all of their researchers under one roof to work on all their projects. The tandem cell is still "18-24 months away" which has been their timeline for a year or so but Tom emphasized that with all the work being done in one place it should speed things up.
No immediate plans for a private placement but they hope to list on the OTCQB in the U.S. and might have to do one at that time as it is, in Tom's words, like an IPO.
My thoughts. We won't see a significant rise in the sp until they sign the manufacturing contract; and that won't happen until they get the Bsi over the current 16.5% (tom's number) efficiency. No timelines but probably no real news for several (2-4) months. However they are working with more than one manufacturer and that means that the industry has some faith in the cell. Consolidating the research has to be helpful and will probably speed up the timelines. ANY contract this year will be a good thing and once that happens it means things will accelerate and my own timeline of full commercialization in 2014 looks viable. Listing on another exchange and some kind of IPO or PP will get more attention from potential investors and I suspect the timing will center around signing a contract and that should all push the sp well over a dollar and maybe approach $2. It's tough to sit and wait but there appears to be the usual snail's pace of progress.
I plan to contact Tom again in about 6-8 weeks if no PR in the interim. GLTAL.
