Konarka Technologies

Konarka Technologies

Konarka Technologies, Inc. was a solar energy company based in Lowell, Massachusetts, founded in 2001 as a spin-off from University of Massachusetts Lowell. In late May 2012, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and laid off its approximately 80-member staff. The company’s operations have ceased and a trustee is tasked with liquidating the company’s assets for the benefit of creditors.

The company was developing two types of organic solar cells: polymer-fullerene solar cells and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Konarka cells were lightweight, flexible photovoltaics that could be printed as film or coated onto surfaces.

The company had hoped its manufacturing process, which utilized organic chemistry, would result in higher energy conversion efficiency at lower cost than traditional silicon fabricated solar cells. Konarka was also researching infrared light activated photovoltaics which would enable night-time power generation.

The company's co-founders included the Nobel laureate Alan J. Heeger. The company was named after Konark Sun Temple in India.