August 20, 2007 - HelioVolt aims to use its newly nailed-down $77M in Series B financing to help achieve its goal of a first factory, a proposed 20MW site in the US with room to expand capacity as needed, according to company CEO B.J. Stanbery, in an email Q&A with WaferNEWS.

The Austin, TX-based startup wouldn't give details about its progress on the new site, saying it's still "in final negotiations," but did confirm that it will locate the plant here in the US and not overseas. Plans for0 manufacturing ramp include forging long-term relationships with capital equipment suppliers, "since our business goal is not to be an equipment manufacturer ourselves," he said.

Stanbery says prototype yields and performance from its FASST manufacturing process "are superior to commercially available cadmium telluride module products," adding that efficiencies "are continually improving" toward a goal 10%-12% conversion efficiency for initial module products, he said.

HelioVolt has been working to bring to market its low-cost copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) thin-film technology, which it claims is 100x thinner and more absorbent than traditional silicon, and 10x faster to produce than alternative CIGS manufacturing methods.