State of Kentucky Funds $100K Commercial Feasibility Study

This $100k matching grant from the State of Kentucky will assist Bert Thin Films in testing the commercial feasibility of copper based metallization for the solar cell industry.

The Lane Report states: "To help these companies turn their research into reality, Gov. Steve Beshear this week announced that six high-tech businesses have been awarded a total of $1 million as part of a program to support and attract technology-based small businesses to Kentucky. ..."

“These Kentucky companies are developing products and technologies that will greatly enhance life as we know it,” said Gov. Beshear. “I’m pleased that we’re able to support these innovators who also are helping create high-paying jobs throughout the Commonwealth and encourage them to keep or locate their companies right here.”

The companies receiving awards in the first quarter of 2015 include: ... 

Bert Thin Films LLC (Jefferson County): Bert Thin Films is creating cost-saving copper-based ink to replace the silver metallization pastes used in silicon solar cells."

University of Louisville Develops Cutting Edge Commercialization Technology

A University of Louisville engineering professor, Thad Druffel, PhD, and a post-doctoral researcher, Ruvini Dharmadasa, are leading a team that's developed a new approach that experts think could leapfrog existing technology and make waves in the multibillion-dollar global solar market.

Read full article at Louisville Courier-Journal: Louisville Start-up Seeks Solar Cell Solution

NSF STTR Phase 1 Awards $225K To Lower Legacy Manufacturing Costs

The broader impact/commercial potential of this $225k Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be to lower manufacturing costs in the photovoltaic (PV) industry.

Bert Thin Films LLC, a company originating from the University of Louisville’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, has received a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop and commercialize a new material to reduce the costs of manufacturing solar cells.

Read article from The Lane Report: UofL Conn Center Startup Earns $225,000 National Grant

Read the award abstract at NFS: STTR Phase I: Low Cost Copper Contacts with Built in Barriers for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells