Sunpreme Raises $50 Million in VC, to Manufacture in China
Posted in Solar Power on October 18th, 2011 by News Desk –
Sunnyvale, Calif. – Sunpreme, a developer of solar cells, has raised $50 million in a round of venture capital, which was led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group.
Other investors in the deal include Silicon-Valley-based Capricorn Investment Group and Beijing-based China Environment Fund, managed by Tsing Capital.
In one more discouraging move for boosters of U.S. competitiveness in alternative energy industries, Sunpreme said it will use the new investment funds to construct a manufacturing facility in Jiaxing, China, which will allow it to expand production of its solar cells by the end of this year.
According to Sunpreme’s website, “the company’s manufacturing operations, materials sourcing and global sales are to be driven from China, the benchmark in execution efficiency and speed.”
“Our first three US patents for the innovative device structure have been granted and we are now moving to scale production of the SmartSilicon cells in the new Jiaxing facility, near Shanghai, with world-class environmental and social management systems fully supported by the local government,” said Ashok K. Sinha, chairman and CEO of Sunpreme.
Sunpreme’s solar cell technology is made on mostly industry-standard production equipment. Its process does not use toxic or rare materials, according to the company.
The company’s latest commercial effort “represents a meaningful and replicable transfer of solar technologies to key emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, China and India,” according to an announcement. “By commercializing a technology innovation that focuses on reducing cost per Watt at the module level, and supplying modules to the large and distributed power plant manufacturers, this project is a step forward toward making clean efficient energy available to all.”
