Konarka Technologies signed research and development collaboration and strategic investment agreement with Konica Minolta Holdings
Konarka Technologies, a manufacturer of "Power Plastic" material that converts light to energy, reports that its current roll-to-roll process simplifies manufacturing scale-up, has significantly lower capital and labor costs than previous generations of solar cells and can be produced using existing coating and printing equipment.
The two companies signed an agreement for full-scale collaboration for development and distribution of organic thin-film photovoltaics (OPV). Konica Minolta’s investment is of 20 million US-dollars according to the contract. The goals of the R&D efforts include higher conversion efficiency, longer life, lower manufacturing costs and the realization of mass production of next-generation PV.
Depending on the success of the joint development goal, the two companies intend to set up a joint venture company in Japan to produce organic thin-film PV panels. Konica Minolta will act as Konarka's lead Asian business partner headquartered in Japan. Masatoshi Matsuzaki, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Konica Minolta commented: "Konica Minolta positions the organic thin-film photovoltaic business as one of the most promising in the environment and energy field. We are pleased to be collaborating with Konarka, the first and world leader to commercialize organic thin-film photovoltaics because of its state-of-the-art polymer technology and its mass production facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts."
Howard Berke, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Konarka, stated: "With our collaboration efforts, Konarka and Konica Minolta are well positioned to deliver efficient, next-generation photovoltaic panels to meet the growing demand for personal and commercial solar energy solutions around the world."
