- Solar PV technology company Swift Solar recently announced that it has raised over $ 8 million in Series Seed 2 funding
Solar PV technology company Swift Solar recently announced that it has raised over $ 8 million in Series Seed 2 funding. Another $ 1.5 million is expected to close soon for a total of $ 9.6 million. This funding round was led by Sid Sijbrandij, CEO of GitLab, and James Fickel, cryptocurrency expert. Other participants in this round are climate-tech and deep-tech investors such as Good Growth Capital, Safar Partners, Climate Capital, Jack Fuchs and Sierra Peterson, the crypto and finance experts Jonathan Lin, Grant Hummer and the Ethereum inventor Vitalik Buterin as well a diverse group of Engel investors. This round of funding will be used to expand research and development capacity, develop prototypes and expand the Swift Solar team.
Swift Solar recently received a joint R&D 100 award from the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). To date, over $ 16 million in equity has been funded. The company is also supported by non-dilutive funding from the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, and the Office of Naval Research.
Swift Solar is working to develop a new solar PV technology – metal halide perovskite – that could fundamentally outperform today's silicon and thin film technologies. And within 10 years, perovskite tandems could be more efficient, affordable and scalable than any PV product on the market.
Perovskite solar cells require less material than conventional technologies, and the raw materials are much more abundant and cheaper. The production of perovskite PV modules requires simpler manufacturing facilities with higher throughput and less energy than is required for the production of silicon PV. In addition, flexible perovskite solar modules can achieve an unprecedented power to weight ratio and can be rolled up like a tarpaulin and laminated to almost any surface. And they enable multijunction or tandem cell structures that can achieve energy conversion efficiency of over 40 percent, break a limit of around 30 percent of current technology, and deliver more watts per dollar spent on installation.
With a combination of higher efficiency, power density and flexibility, Swift Solar's perovskite PV technology could keep drones in the sky for months, charge electric vehicles, power households and provide additional and off-grid power to areas in developing countries and during disasters.
IMPORTANT QUOTES:
“Today's industry leaders recognize that perovskite technology represents new opportunities for the future of solar energy. The Swift Solar team is constantly working to make solar panels more affordable, efficient and easy to install. With this financing, we can be on the way faster to supply the emission-free vehicles and power grids of tomorrow with high-performance solar. “
– Swift Solar Co-Founder and CEO Joel Jean
“We have to accelerate innovation in order to limit climate change. Swift Solar's cutting edge solar technology is an important piece of the puzzle, and the Swift team is second to none. I take pride in speeding up her work so that she can meet the urgency of the moment. “
– GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij
“Swift Solar's breakthrough perovskite technology was developed by incredible scientists with in-depth knowledge of how solar power works better at cheaper prices. I trust this is the company that is taking solar power to the next level. “
– Cryptocurrency expert James Fickel