Dye-sensitized Solar Cell - Market Introduction

Market Introduction

Several commercial providers are promising availability of DSCs in the near future:

• Dyesol officially opened its new manufacturing facilities in Queanbeyan Australia on the 7th of October 2008. It has subsequently announced partnerships with Tata Steel (TATA-Dyesol) and Pilkington Glass (Dyetec-Solar) for the development and large scale manufacture of DSC BIPV. Dyesol has also entered working relationships with Merck, Umicore, CSIRO, Japanese Ministry of Economy and Trade, Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing and a joint Venture with TIMO Korea (Dyesol-TIMO)

• Solaronix, a Swiss company specialized in the production of DSC materials since 1993, has extended their premises in 2010 to host a manufacturing pilot line of DSC modules.

• SolarPrint founded in 2008 by Dr. Mazhar Bari, Andre Fernon and Roy Horgan. SolarPrint is the first Ireland-based commercial entity involved in the manufacturing of PV technology. SolarPrint's innovation is the solution to the solvent based electrolyte which to date has prohibited the mass commercialisation of DSSC.

• G24innovations founded in 2006, based in Cardiff, South Wales, UK. On October 17, 2007, claimed the production of the first commercial grade dye sensitised thin films. G24i now purchase all of their DSC Dye's from Dyesol.

• Hydrogen Solar is another company making dye-sensitized cells.

• Sony Corporation has developed dye-sensitized solar cells with an energy conversion efficiency of 10%, a level seen as necessary for commercial use. Sony is now being supplied materials by Australia´s Dyesol