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REDWOOD CITY, CA -- XeroCoat, Inc., a pioneering Silicon
Valley start-up, has officially announced its entry into the solar energy
market. Targeting the solar thermal and solar photovoltaic segments, XeroCoat
designs and manufactures a high-performing anti-reflective coating for
solar energy systems. Applicable across all solar energy technologies,
the XeroCoat anti-reflective coating technology can significantly increase
conversion efficiency and, consequently, the power output of solar systems
in a very cost-effective manner. XeroCoat's technology offers the advantages
of superior solar energy transmission, exceptional durability, and lends
itself to high-volume, low cost manufacturing. Founded by two University
of Queensland, Australia researchers, XeroCoat is headquartered in Redwood
City, California and maintains its research and development base in Brisbane,
Queensland. The company has an international team of leading optical materials
and solar energy scientists and engineers who are focused on continuous
innovation of coatings for the solar energy industry. XeroCoat has just
signed a contract with a large solar thermal manufacturer to provide the
anti-reflective coating for their demonstration line. In addition, the
company is actively engaged in demonstrating XeroCoat's technology to
several leading photovoltaic module and solar thermal system manufacturers.
"At XeroCoat, we're strongly committed to making solar energy more
affordable for all today," stated Tom Hood, chief executive officer
and president of XeroCoat. "Our customers are aggressively seeking
cost-effective solutions to lower manufacturing costs and increase the
conversion efficiency of their solar systems. The XeroCoat anti-reflective
coating offers a very simple and cost-effective way to get the most power
out of the sun. In addition, our ability to partner with solar energy
systems manufacturers and glass suppliers allows for great flexibility
to control costs and logistics in the supply chain."
Increases Energy Returns, Lowers Manufacturing Costs
By using the XeroCoat anti-reflective coating on a photovoltaic module,
the solar energy reaching the solar cells is increased by as much as 3%
at noon and by as much as 6% at early morning and evening hours. This
means that solar module makers can expect a 3% increase in power output
on a peak watt (Wp) basis, and a 4% increase in energy produced on a kilowatt-hour
(kWhr) basis. This improvement is equivalent to increasing the efficiency
of a solar cell by approximately 0.5-0.75% points, without having to modify
the cell or module manufacturing process. For solar system owners, XeroCoat's
anti-reflective coating increases the energy output per module, which
translates to higher revenue, especially in locations with a feed-in tariff.
In addition, because the peak watt per module is higher, fewer modules
are needed to achieve the same total solar system watt rating, resulting
in balance of system's cost savings.
Anti-Reflective Coatings Increase Power Output
The ultimate measure of success for a photovoltaic module is conversion
efficiency -- the number which tells us how much of the sun's light energy
is converted to electricity. Photovoltaic modules suffer from reduced
conversion efficiency even before the sun's light reaches the solar cells.
This is because the solar module's protective cover glass reflects some
of the incident light. For typical glass panels, depending on the time
of day, 4% to 15% and more of the incoming light is lost from reflections
and, thus, is not available to generate electricity. Applying an anti-reflective
coating to the cover glass of the module will reduce these reflections
and increase the module's output power. Today, anti-reflective coatings
for the solar module cover glass are used in less than 5% of photovoltaic
solar systems. Current commercial PV technologies convert 10%-20% of the
incoming light to electricity. The same module with a suitable anti-reflective
coating can deliver an additional 0.3%-0.6% power conversion. A product
achieving higher conversion efficiency in a cost-effective manner can
make solar modules more affordable. Delivering high performance requires
that the anti-reflective coating reduces reflections and maximizes the
solar energy available for conversion into electricity across the broadest
range of wavelengths and angles possible. While multi-layer coatings were
the traditional solution, they add cost and reflect sunlight more than
uncoated glass at certain incident angles. The combination of a single-layer
optical coating and graded low-refractive index enables XeroCoat's anti-reflective
coating to achieve the highest attainable optical performance for any
type of solar cover glass.
Source: XeroCoat Inc.
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