Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $57 million award to The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the State University of New York at Albany as part of its SunShot Advanced PV Manufacturing Partnerships Program. Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), a leading provider of equipment for the solar industry, announced today that it is a key partner for CNSE on this project as part of the U.S. Photovoltaic Consortium
The DOE’s SunShot Initiative aims to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 % so that CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) solar is cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade. Achieving this goal – equivalent to approximately $1 per watt or roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for utility systems – would allow solar energy systems to be broadly deployed across the country.
John Peeler, Veeco’s Chief Executive Officer commented, “We are excited to be a key partner for the CNSE project. Driven by the world-class innovation at CNSE, the PVMI CIGS consortium will provide a full-scale CIGS center enabling the whole PV supply chain to work together to deploy new technologies, and enable the transition to commercial production. Bringing together end-users, module manufacturers, suppliers, and technologists is the most efficient way to rapidly advance technology. This center has all the elements to speed the progress of CIGS commercialization.
Mr. Peeler added, “In addition to acknowledging the Department of Energy for this funding and their support of CIGS technology advancement, Veeco would like to take this opportunity to thank our Congressman, Steve Israel, who has been instrumental in helping get the PVMI project off the ground.”
Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) commented, "Investments in our growing clean technology industry are critical to both our economic recovery and our national security. Veeco is a leader at finding innovative ways to produce solar technology in New York and across the country. This latest Department of Energy funding and support of the CNSE PVMI project will bolster our efforts to compete globally as a clean energy leader.”
David Bruns, Senior Vice President, Veeco Solar, added, “CNSE and SEMATECH have a proven model demonstrated in the semiconductor industry. By leveraging this model, we are confident the same success can be achieved in solar. The DOE’s commitment to CIGS and Veeco has been strong and we are appreciative of their continued support.” Veeco received a $4.8M DOE R&D; grant earlier this year to help speed its development of CIGS equipment technology. Veeco Solar currently has a small-scale pilot production line for CIGS development located in the Greater Albany region.
CNSE Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros said, "On behalf of the UAlbany NanoCollege, we applaud the leadership and support of New York’s federal delegation, led by Senior Senator Chuck Schumer along with Congressmen Paul Tonko, Chris Gibson and Steve Israel, in helping to secure this investment by the DOE. Building on investments made by New York State and coupled with the pioneering model established by CNSE, this will infuse critical capital to position New York and the U.S. as world leaders in 21st century photovoltaic technologies. We look forward to working with Veeco as a key partner in our new PV Manufacturing Center.”
CNSE PVMI Project
Managed by CNSE and SEMATECH, the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC) will coordinate an industry-driven research and development initiative to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of next generation CIGS thin film PV manufacturing technologies, driving down the cost and risk of bringing them to the marketplace. PVMC with its major partner, The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the State University of New York at Albany, will establish manufacturing development facilities that PV companies and researchers can use for product prototyping, demonstration, and pilot-scale manufacturing to evaluate and validate CIGS thin film and PV manufacturing technologies. For CNSE’s news release on this project, please visit
Veeco
Veeco makes equipment to develop and manufacture LEDs, solar panels, hard disk drives and other devices. We support our customers through product development, manufacturing, sales and service sites in the U.S., Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Japan, Europe and other locations. Please visit us at http://www.veeco.com.
