Natcore Technology Inc. and Italy-based MX Holding SPA have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture focused on research and development (R&D).
The R&D work is expected to be based on Natcore's liquid phase deposition (LPD) technology and the work of Dr. Daniele Margadona, the MX Group's chief technology officer. LPD is a process that would replace the chemical vapor deposition process that is now the industry standard in PV cell production.
The companies' three key areas of focus are a selective emitter concept, a process for putting front contacts on a solar cell that could improve its efficiency up to 2%; back-side passivation, the process of filling dangling atomic bonds on the rear surface of solar cells and reducing the numbers of defects in the upper region of the cell body; and epitaxial growth, a new technology for the production of wafers with reusable silicon substrates.
Additionally, Natcore and MX Holding intend to participate, together with third-party investors, in the ownership of a solar cell manufacturing facility that will produce and sell solar cells based on the technologies developed by the R&D joint venture.
