Siemens has acquired a minority stake in US company Semprius for an undisclosed sum. The purchase of the approximately 16% share will see Siemens assist Semprius’s HCPV technology development and provide Siemens with an insight into a new CO2-free power generation technology that is nearing market maturity.
Semprius’s HCPV modules consist of lenses that focus the sun’s rays onto cells that have been verified by NREL as having greater than 40% efficiency. HCPV technology is well suited to areas of high irradiance, and the market for the technology is anticipated to reach in the region of 6GW by 2020.
The Siemens investment will enable Semprius to bring the patented technology to market more quickly, and will also expand Siemens’s reach in the industry from its current position as an EPC company.
“Participating in Semprius provides us access to trailblazing technology for clean power generation,” commented Martin Schulz, VP of photovoltaics in Siemens Energy’s Renewable Energy Division. “We believe the prospects are bright for high concentrating photovoltaic systems that enable significantly higher efficiencies than conventional PV modules, and at the same time, offer enormous potential to achieve competitive levelized costs of electricity.”
