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Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. has been selected for negotiations for a U.S. Department of Energy PV Technology Pre-Incubator project award. The new subcontract, which comes from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is subject to negotiations and worth approximately $315,000 over a 12-month period. Funding for the program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Ascent’s existing research will be included in the program, which will see the company’s proprietary deposition process brought into play. The program members plan to use a zinc-magnesium-oxide (ZnMgO) layer deposited using Ascent’s process to replace the standard window layer of a copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide (CIGS) device. The ultimate aim is to replace all the top layers of the device.

“We are very pleased that the DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have selected us for this award,” commented Dr. Joseph Armstrong, Chief Technical Officer of Ascent Solar.

“This program builds upon our existing ongoing internal research and development in this area, and has heritage back to our work on multijunction devices with the United States Missile Defense Agency and the United States Air Force,” continued Dr. Armstrong. “Successful completion of this program can significantly change how our existing devices are completed in the near future, and can have positive impact upon the manufacturing process in terms of reduced capital expenditures in setting up a facility, as well as reduction in the overall manufacturing cost of our product.”