Natcore Technology and MX Holding advised that they had mutually signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture for the research and development of efficiency and cost in the solar industry. The R&D work will incorporate Natcore’s liquid phase deposition (LPD) technology combined with work by Dr. Daniele Margadona, CTO of the MX Group.
Natcore noted that the JV would not affect its current or developing technology and application R&D efforts. The JV instead will focus on three key areas including the selective emitter concept, backside passivation and epitaxial growth, a new technology for the development of wafers with reusable silicon substrates.
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Natcore and MX Holding additionally advised that they expect to participate with third party investors in the ownership of a solar cell manufacturing facility that will produce and sell high-efficiency solar cells based-off of the technology that will be develop in the R&D JV. The third-party investors include various MX Holding and five Italian solar panel manufacturers, all of which anticipate buying the entire solar cell output from the manufacturing facility.
“Solar cell manufacturers tend to buy their fabrication equipment from the same three German companies,” says Carmelito Denaro, CEO of MX Solar USA and its parent, MX Holding. “And solar panel fabricators tend to buy their solar cells from the same Asian sources, all of which use that German equipment. Consequently, there is not much difference between panels from one fabricator and those from another. We were looking for an advantage: something that could enable us to make better solar cells with greater efficiency or lower cost. We found both when we found Natcore.”