News

25 August 2009

 

Circadian Solar secures second, £2m tranche of £8m investment

Circadian Solar of Coventry, UK, which is developing concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems incorporating gallium arsenide multi-junction photovoltaic cells, has received approval for a £2m investment by Seven Spires Investments Ltd (SSIL). This is the release of the second tranche of a £8m investment planned to be rolled out over three years by SSIL.

The first tranche of funding was received in early 2008 by AdvanceSis (founded in 2004 as a spin-off from the University of Warwick to commercialize strained silicon structures), before it changed its name to Circadian Solar in mid-July to reflect its focus on commercializing CPV technology.

“Circadian Solar is well on target to become a major player in the supply of CPV energy systems,” says SSIL’s Edward McCabe. “They have achieved all technical and commercial milestones to date,” he adds.

“This funding will permit Circadian Solar to complete its commercial-scale demonstration and test system,” says the CPV firm's CEO Dr Robin Godfrey. After sending a 1kW tracker unit this month to its Mediterranean test site for extensive field testing, Circadian aims to follow it up with a commercial-size system later this year. “It [the funding] will also allow an important investment into a joint venture aimed at significantly reducing the cost of high-performance solar cell devices over the next few years, as part of our drive to lower the costs of CPV systems to grid parity,” he adds.

“The benefits aren’t just applicable to the countries where these units will be established; with UK businesses like Circadian Solar forging ahead with CPV technology, the associated advantages of manufacturing and job opportunities will be felt much closer to home,” asserts Godfrey.

See related item:

AdvanceSis becomes Circadian Solar to reflect CPV commercialization

Search: CPV GaAs Multi-junction PVs

Visit: www.circadiansolar.com

Visit: www.sevenspires.co.uk