The project will produce nearly 700 to 1,000MW of silicon-based wafers annually using an innovative manufacturing process called Direct Wafer.
The company received a $4m grant from DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program and a $3m grant from DOE’s Solar Energy Technology program for the development of its direct wafering technology.
Phase I of the solar manufacturing project will be located in Massachusetts, US.
The manufacturing process condenses four manufacturing steps into a single, low cost step and reduces silicon waste by forming individual wafers directly from a pool of molten silicon.
A thin sheet of silicon freezes inside the Direct Wafer furnace and is then removed and laser-trimmed to size, the company said.
The company said the process will reduce manufacturing costs of the wafers by nearly 50%, dramatically cutting the cost of solar power.
