Nanosolar Lands Big Orders For Printed Solar Cell

Nanosolar thin-film solar cells are made using a roll-to-roll process and then the cells are assembled into panels in another factory in Germany.

(Credit: Nanosolar)

Thin-film solar company Nanosolar said today it has secured sizable customer orders and it expects to match solar industry cost leaders in a few years.

Nanosolar, one of dozens of companies founded last decade to use thin-film cells to lower the cost of solar, said it has customer orders that could be as much as 1 gigawatt worth of solar panels over six years if the company meets technical milestones and ramps up volume as it projects. The panels are designed for utility-scale solar projects over 1 megawatt in size.

The contracts are a boost to San Jose, Calif.-based Nansolar, which has raised close to $500 million but replaced its CEO last year, a sign of some troubles at the company. The contracts are with existing partners, solar developers Belectric from Germany, EDF Energies Nouvelles of France, and Plain Energy from Germany.

By the end of this year, Nansolar expects to manufacture solar cells at a rate of near 115 megawatts per year in San Jose. Those cells are transported to Germany where another factory makes panels specifically designed for utility customers.

Once it's at full capacity in its San Jose plant, Nansolar expects its production costs will be at a $1 per watt, making its costs lower than panels made with traditional crystalline silicon cells, according to Brian Stone, Nanosolar's vice president of sales and marketing.

The company expects that improved efficiency of its solar cells, from 10 percent now to 14 percent in 2014, will get production costs below 60 cents a watt by the end of 2013, making it competitive with other thin-film solar manufacturers. The key to its lower production costs is Nansolar's roll-to-roll cell manufacturing, said CEO Geoff Tate, who joined the company about one year ago.

Most thin-film solar companies use a vaccum deposition process where solar cell material is layered on to a substrate. Nanosolar's photovoltaic material, made from a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS), starts in a liquid form and is coated onto an aluminum foil. The layer evaporates and then is heated to create a crystalline structure needed for a solar cell, explained Tate.

The manufacturing process, where cells are essentially printed, allows for faster production and greater cost reductions over time, compared to both other CIGS makers and companies that make cadmium telluride thin-film cells, including industry price leader First Solar.

"We believe CIGS has higher efficiency potential but printing is actually more important than whether we are doing cad tel or CIGS because it gives us a cost structure that none of the others have," said Tate.

The solar panels themselves are designed specifically for utility-scale projects, with relatively large panels able to produce 200 watts each and a mounting system which saves on material and cabling.

To get to the company's projected volume target, Nansolar doesn't need to raise any more money. In 2008, the company raised $300 million, bringing the total raised to near $500 million. After ramping up to full scale at its current locations in California and Germany, the company intends to double its manufacturing capacity with new plants, said Tate.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20057991-54.html#ixzz1KrDI2meF

Volkswagen Unveils Third-Generation Beetle

The new and improved Volkswagen Beetle.(Credit: Volkswagen)

The Volkswagen Beetle enjoys a long and storied history. And now, it's moving into its third generation.

The Volkswagen Beetle is arguably one of the most recognizable cars on the road. First launched in the U.S. in 1949, the car was a staple in the country for 30 years. Over that span, Volkswagen sold nearly 5 million Beetles in the U.S. alone. After being discontinued, the Beetle was brought back in 1998. Through 2010, the New Beetle's sales topped 477,000 units in the U.S. All told, more than 22.5 million Beetles (first- and second-generation) have been built.

The latest Beetle, which Volkswagen is calling its third-generation model, features a new design that might surprise those who have grown accustomed to its iconic look. According to Volkswagen, the third-generation Beetle is "substantially wider, the front hood is longer, the front windshield is shifted further back and has a much steeper incline." In fact, the 2012 Beetle is 3.3 inches wider than its predecessor and half an inch shorter in height. The body is also 6 inches longer.

In addition, the Beetle comes with a panoramic top that's 80 percent larger than the previous option, and offers both a "turbo-charged TDI Clean Diesel and turbo-charged gasoline engines." The Clean Diesel engine, the company says, is the most fuel-efficient option ever available in a Beetle, offering 40 miles per gallon on the highway and 29 miles per gallon in the city.

On the tech side, consumers should find quite a bit to like. The 2012 Beetle comes standard with eight speakers. If customers opt for the premium VIII audio system, they will get an integrated CD changer, along with an SD card slot and touch screen. In addition, customers can opt for the first time to get navigation in the Beetle.

For better sound, customers can choose the Fender Premium Audio System, which delivers "an additional subwoofer and 400 watts of output power," Volkswagen said. For the first time, Volkswagen is also bringing keyless access to the Beetle, letting owners open the doors and start the engine without requiring an ignition key.

The 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is scheduled to launch in the U.S. in September or October. Volkswagen has yet to reveal pricing.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20054899-17.html#ixzz1JzaWPPor

Microsoft And Toyota Partner On Smart-Grid Tech

Toyota Motor has agreed to develop and deploy telematic services, including its smart-grid technology for running electric systems more efficiently, on Microsoft's cloud-based Azure technology.

Toyota wants to use the technology to give customers navigation and diagnostic services, much like General Motors' OnStar service. Toyota also envisions scenarios in which drivers would be able to turn on heaters or air conditioning at their home with voice commands from their car. "We'll boost the value of today's vehicles by making them information terminals," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference today, which was Webcast.

The service, a centerpiece of Toyota's green initiative, will provide energy management technology for Toyota's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012. Drivers will be able to choose to charge those cars when energy consumption is lowest and prices are cheapest. "We must find a planet-friendly way of using energy," Toyoda said. Toyota hopes to roll out a more advanced platform to handle a wider variety of applications globally by 2015.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer

(Credit: Microsoft)

The new technology will be tested as part of the Toyota Smart Center pilot program, currently running in Japan. The trial gives consumers detailed information about energy consumption in their cars and homes so they can manage their use more efficiently. Toyota has said it believes such smart-grid systems can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 75 percent.

The deal calls for the two companies to invest a total of $12 million in Toyota Media Service, a Toyota subsidiary that will provide digital information services to Toyota's car customers.

The deal gives Microsoft a marquee customer for its Azure technology, which provides companies the ability to offer applications as a Web-delivered service. And it's not just Toyota that will take advantage of the technology. The car maker intends to open up the service to other developers who could create services of value to drivers. "Getting the platform right opens a lot of opportunities," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said.

For Microsoft, the deal moves the company further into the automotive business. The software giant has already partnered with Ford for its Sync in-car connectivity system that lets drivers access their phone and music device with voice commands. It also helps Microsoft expand its drive into smart-grid technology. Just Monday at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference, Microsoft's Chief Environmental Strategist Rob Bernard told CNET that since consumers and utilities have not taken up its Hohm energy-monitoring application as hoped, the company is increasing focus on electric-vehicle charging.

Related links
• CES: Toyota aspires to be app king
• Microsoft tries plan B with Hohm energy app
• Microsoft's Windows Azure turns one

Neither Ballmer nor Toyoda offered up much detail for the kinds of scenarios that might be available. There was some broad discussion about energy-monitoring applications, and some speculation about GPS services that could reroute drivers based on traffic. But whatever is ultimately offered, Toyoda acknowledged that consumers will foot the bill. "To a certain extent, we will have to ask customers to shoulder the expense," Toyoda said.

Toyoda expects the new technology to work in concert with the Entune service, which Toyota unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. That service allows drivers to use voice commands to buy movie tickets, make restaurant reservations, and listen to music. With the technology created by the Microsoft partnership, Toyoda said, "we will be able to offer much broader applications for Entune."

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20051357-75.html#ixzz1JFI403DV