Reducing the cost of solar electricity

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• Reducing the cost of solar electricity
• Peter Bermel, Miro Morczinek, Ken Pao
• Mentor Dave Duehren

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Solar Energy

• Solar cell energy sources in demand today
• Silicon shortage ? 2-year backlog on solar cells!
• Market at 7 billion in 2004 will grow to 30
  billion by 2010 Michael Rogol, CLSA
• Still more expensive than fossil fuels, but
  growth driven by 3 factors
• competes at grid prices not generator prices
• subsidies can make it economical for consumers
• innovations keep driving down costs
• Only 0.1 total world energy market share ?
  massive growth opportunities solarbuzz.com

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Improving Solar Cells

• Cost of manufacture high
• Our technology decreases it in two ways
• Reduces silicon use up to 80
• Improves efficiency up to 20
• Implications
• Decreased silicon use ? 25 overall cost savings!
• Allows same amount of silicon to go five times
  farther

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Technology

• Solar cell energy depends on light absorption
• Silicon absorbs light poorly in near infrared
• Usually, lots of silicon used to compensate
• Our approach traps light with photonic crystals
• Allows greater efficiency with equal silicon
• Equal efficiency with much less silicon

Bermel, Luo, Joannopoulos, Improving Solar Cell
Efficiencies through Periodicity (Patent Pending)
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Business Model

• Two major approaches licensing or manufacturing
• Licensing
• Provide design process know-how to solar cell
  vendors
• Filed patent through MIT Technology Licensing
  Office
• Can obtain an exclusive license as inventors
• Consult with existing manufacturers to integrate
  technology into current processes
• Manufacturing
• Become module solutions vendor, coordinating
  supply chain for components
• Use exclusive IP in manufacturing process
• However, capital intensive to build plant
• can purchase turnkey systems from Spire
  Corporation

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Sales for Licensing Business Model

• Contact major players in photovoltaics
• Sharp Solar
• Kyocera
• BP Solar
• Shell Solar
• Sanyo
• Evergreen Solar
• We add value to their products
• Offer critical IP no one outside MIT has this
  technology
• Consult on how to change manufacturing process

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Financials for Licensing Business Model

• Similar to AmberWave business model
• Offer initial package to each customer
• IP rights
• Consulting to modify existing production lines
• Charge royalty
• Only a fraction of value added by our product
• Still represents a healthy revenue stream
• Cap at a large but attainable number to encourage
  manufacturers to max out product
• Example
• Initial licensing fees
• starts with 1 company _at_ 500k
• grows to several companies _at_ up to 1 million
• Royalties
• production starts _at_ 10 million / year
• subsequent growth _at_ 77 (27 growth 50
  advantage)
• Overall income _at_ 176 million after 5 years of
  production
• Expenses just staff research equipment ?
  substantial profit margins

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Competition

• Can partner with existing silicon solar cell
  manufacturers
• Manufacturing improvements key because process
  materials research has reached its limits
• Unique IP protected by MIT
• Alternative solar cell technologies still
  undeveloped and unproven
• Organic cells low efficiency, break down under
  UV light Fortune, Feb 1, 2005
• Dye-sensitized cells liable to leak or
  evaporate US Patent 6900382
• Thin film cells poor conductance, failed
  historically (e.g., BP), heavy metals dangerous
  to environment

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Sunlight Photonics Team

• Peter Bermel (class of 2007)
• Ph.D., Physics at MIT
• Advisor John Joannopoulos
• Miro Morczinek (class of 2006)
• MBA, Harvard Business School
• Investment manager with Wellington Partners
  Venture Capital
• focused on applied materials photovoltaics
• Ken Pao (class of 2006)
• MBA, Harvard Business School
• Experienced entrepreneur in an electronic
  components brokerage

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Timeline

• April 10, 2006 filed patent with US Patent
  Office
• May 1, 2006 apply for government grants (SBIR,
  NSF, etc.)
• January 1, 2007 receive government funding
  begin building prototype with Kimerling lab
• January 1, 2008 begin licensing technology
• January 1, 2010 groundbreaking on manufacturing
  plant