CPV MAKER GETS $4.5MIL BACKING

Concentrator Optics raises €3.5 million

7 May 2012 (Concentrator Optics)

“Concentrating photovoltaics is gaining momentum with an expected industry growth exceeding 400% for the current year. Following this trend, Concentrator Optics raised €3.5 million in equity, debt and grant financing…

“…Capricorn Cleantech Fund, Leu-ven, Belgium, and the German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) contributed to the equity raise…[which will] be used for installing a 40 MW silicone-on-glass lens production line, for organizational development and for fuelling its continued commercial growth.”

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“With concentrating photovoltaics (CPV), sunlight is concentrated by factor of 500 to 1,200 employ-ing flat Fresnel lenses in order to generate electricity by using very small and highly efficient cells. This technology enjoys rapid growth due to the double efficiency compared with traditional photo-voltaic systems in sunny climates with high direct irradiation levels.

“Concentrator Optics is one of the few global manufacturers of Fresnel lenses and is the only company to offer lenses in both PMMA as silicone-on-glass technology…Concentrating photovoltaics offers highest efficiency ( > 30%) solar power generation…Concentrator Optics has generated unique technologies…[in] materials and processes in the manufacturing of Fresnel lenses and in the tooling processes upstream of the lens fabrication…”

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