Thin-film PV developer AQT has entered into partnerships with a module manufacturer and systems installer/developer to drive the delivery and deployment of AQT’s CIGS solar cells into commercial projects later this year.
Solar Enertech is working closely with AQT as a module manufacturing partner and will assist with product certification and qualification starting in the second half of this year. Solar Enertech’s R&D team will join efforts with AQT to complete the final process of integrating the cells into modules.
HelioPower, which has engineered residential, commercial, community, and utility-scale solar power systems for nearly a decade, will assist AQT in its initial customer installations and help smooth market entry for the Santa Clara, CA-based CIGS company’s products.
“We are very excited to be partnering with AQT on CIGS technology to broaden the range of low-cost offerings to the market” said Leo Young, CEO of Solar Enertech. “It is in line with our value-added strategy to the nonsilicon segment and leverages our creative technology team.”
“Reliability, flexibility, and economic viability are the cornerstones of our business model,” said Ty Jagerson, HelioPower’s executive VP for commercial Sales. “We see AQT’s products as a natural addition to our solar portfolio.”
The latest news comes a month after AQT announced a partnership with process tool supplier Intevac, in which the OEM will provide the cell company with production-proven equipment for its current and future production needs.
“AQT’s CIGS 2.0 business model relies as much on world-class partners like Solar Enertech and HelioPower as it does on our breakthrough solar cells, and we will leverage the existing PV ecosystem to rapidly deliver solar solutions to market,” said Michael Bartholomeusz, CEO of AQT. “Leverage is perhaps the most effective force multiplier in this space and will go a long way toward helping us to collectively attain grid parity.”
