SolarPrint Links With Taiwan on PV 

Sandyford Start Up Partners With Taiwan to Develop Industry-Leading Nanotechnology Power Supplies

 

 

 

Irish energy technology start-up SolarPrint  has entered into a landmark research partnership with the Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute to jointly develop new photo-voltaic (PV) solutions that can be used to power laptops, mobile phones and other consumer devices.

 

 

Photo-voltaic technology involves the conversion of  any light - not just sunlight - into energy and is attracting  lots of attention from governments and industry, as developed economies move towards  greater adoption of clean, environmentally friendly energy production technologies.

 

 

The company develops dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC), a third generation printable and flexible solar cell technology, which can be produced using cheap raw materials at a highly competitive cost.

 

 

SolarPrint Chief Executive Officer Dr Mazhar Bari (pictured on left) said: "Our goal is to become a genuine leader in the next generation of solar technology, not just in Ireland, but internationally.

 

"We have already filed patents in relation to our new PV solutions,  and we are now raising funding to help us move towards high volume production of PV materials next year", explained Dr Bari.

SolarPrint has already begun a pilot manufacturing programme and is now raising funds to ramp up production. Its target is  to have a high volume manufacturing facility opened in Sandyford, Co Dublin by next September, where it hopes  to recruit people with specialised expertise in nanotechnology.

 

 

"We are keen to partner with the leading institutions in this area, globally. We have created a disruptive new technology that has the potential to generate energy at a lower cost than other forms of solar power. By partnering with ITRI, whose record in the field of R&D speaks for itself, we are now looking to define precisely how our solar cell technology can operate in the consumer applications space," said Dr. Bari.

 

 

The  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) just  signed by Dublin-based SolarPrint with the Taiwanese Government  means  the company will collaborate with ITRI on the development of PV technologies that can be used in consumer devices like mobile phones and laptops.

 

 

With a budget of more than US$500 million, ITRI is one of the largest research institutes of its kind in the world, and is  credited with helping to transforming the small island off the  Chinese coast into a formidable technology powerhouse.

 

 

Taiwan is already a leader in PV technologies and  plans to invest up to €625 million in clean energy research over the next five years. The development of PV solutions  is worth approximately US$3.16 billion to the Taiwanese economy and the Taiwanese Bureau of Energy has forecast that by 2025, 15 per cent of the country's energy requirements will be met by clean energy sources.

 

 

David Lee of the Taipei Representative Office in Ireland, said: "In Taiwan, we are heavily committed to developing clean, renewable energy technologies. Last year, our Government passed the Renewable Energy Development Act, aimed at supporting the development of long term strategies in the clean energy sector. This has provided a firm legal foundation that is now being mirrored by strong financial investment".

 

 

"For us, SolarPrint is a perfect example of a hugely innovative company that has devised a technology that can be applied in all parts of the world, and we very much welcome this partnership," said Lee

 

"The clean energy sector is a critical area and one that has great potential for co-operation between our two countries, and we feel that this memorandum marks a significant step forward towards realising that potential," said Lee.

 

 

SolarPrint develops photo-voltaic energy technologies designed to convert light from any source into energy.

 

 

SolarPrint's technology has been devised to work in the same way that a plant's leaves convert light to energy using photosynthesis.

 

 

Two of SolarPrint's three co-founders have family links outside of Ireland, while they were raised here, giving the company a cosmopolitan outlook.

 

 

CEO Dr Mazhar Bari, was born in Pakistan and raised in Co Meath. Chief Financial Officer Andreas Fernon was born in Shannon to a French father and Irish mother,while Chief Operating Officer Roy Horgan  hails from Mitchelstown, Co Cork .

 

 

 

Based in Sandyford, Co Dublin, SolarPrint's nanotechnology-based technology has applications in consumer electronic devices, in construction and in the automotive sector.

 

 

 

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