San Jose, Calif.-based Silicor Materials Inc. has received $6 million in new funding from existing investor Hudson Clean Energy Partners LLP to support the company's development and manufacture of its Silicor solar-quality silicon. Silicor Materials also has engaged investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. to assist in its effort to raise capital.
According to Silicor Materials, its silicon product costs less than electronics-grade silicon and photovoltaic wafers and cells made from it achieve conversion efficiencies in excess of 17%. The company says it is currently in advanced development work on a new solar silicon manufacturing plant capable of producing 16,000 metric tons of Silicor per year.
‘In a world where PV module producers have had to operate on minimal margins, it is critical that the solar industry finds a manufacturer able to produce high-caliber solar silicon at a fraction of the cost,’ says Neil Auerbach, founder and managing partner of Hudson.
In 2012, Silicor Materials, formerly known as Calisolar, shed its PV wafer and cell production facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.
