Thin-film solar: Xunlight Corporation (Toledo, Ohio - USA)

Revenues in the fast-growing photovoltaic (PV) sector were $18 billion (U.S.) in 2006 and are expected to grow to between $70 and $100 billion by 2010. Of that, PV module makers will claim between 40 per cent and 50 per cent. Manufacturers of traditional crystalline silicon modules have struggled for the past few years with an industry-wide shortage of solar-grade silicon, creating a massive opportunity for companies focused on new thin-film modules that require less silicon feedstock and can be produced at lower cost. Enter Xunlight Corporation (formerly MWOE Solar, Inc.), a Toledo, Ohio-based venture that has developed a way to make silicon thin-film modules that are both flexible and lightweight. Emerald led a $7 million (U.S.) Series-A round of financing in the company, which will use the funds to build a high-throughput pilot production line for its modules. The company is a spin-off from the University of Toledo, where its co-founder and chief executive Dr. Xunming Deng led the university's silicon thin-film laboratory. Xunlight's single- and triple-junction solar cells, based on amorphous silicon, have an efficiency of about 12 per cent, according to measurements from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The pilot line will be designed to produce both cell types and modules in the 8 per cent to 10 per cent efficiency range. The first availability of the modules is expected towards the end of 2008. They will be manufactured in a variety of form factors and up to 3 x 8 ft (1.0 x 2.5 m) in size. In connection with the financing, Markus Moor with Emerald has joined the Xunlight Board of Directors.
Visit: www.xunlight.com

"Nano" catalysts: SDCmaterials Inc. (Tempe, Ariz. - USA)

The tiny-tech landscape is rich with academics, researchers and companies - both startups and established players - all chasing opportunities in the emerging "nanopowder" market. One relatively early-stage materials company that is clearly demonstrating its competitive advantage in this area is Tempe, Ariz.-based SDCmaterials Inc., which has developed a way to manufacture low-cost alternatives to precious metals that are used as catalysts by the automotive, fine chemical and refinery industries. Emerald recently led an $8.5 million (U.S.) investment round in the three-year-old company to help it make the jump from nanopowder discovery to high-volume manufacturing. The patent-pending technologies at the heart of its process produce a technically superior product at high yields, and this is capturing the attention of several global industrial players. SDCmaterials also has a secondary business focus: production of high-strength supercomposites such as ceramic tiles. The hardness and fracture-resistance of these supercomposites makes them exceptionally well suited for the armor industry, as well as for oxide-strengthened superalloys that are currently being investigated with a major turbine manufacturer. In connection with the financing, Walter Locher with Emerald has joined the SDCmaterials Board of Directors.
Visit: www.sdcmaterials.com

Micro filtration: fluXXion B.V. (Eindhoven - Netherlands)

Clearer beer. Bacteria-free milk without the need to pasteurize. Even, eventually, a filter that can remove viruses from blood plasma. All done with extremely high filter accuracy and using dramatically less energy than conventional methods. It takes a quantum leap in micro filtration membrane technology, and that's exactly what Dutch firm fluXXion B.V. has accomplished. The company designs and produces micro filtration products using silicon-based microsieves as small as 0.35 micrometers is size, and shrinking. It's accomplished using sophisticated manufacturing techniques borrowed from the semiconductor and micro system industries and originally developed by Royal Philips Electronics. Recognizing the substantial demand for such an innovation from the dairy, beverage, ink and biotech industries, Emerald led a EUR 6.4 million (US$8.88 million) financing round into fluXXion. The round also included investments from Capricorn Cleantech Fund and WHEB Ventures, as well as follow-up support from existing investors. In addition to energy savings, users of fluXXion's filtration technology produce less waste, use fewer cleaning chemicals and benefit from lower maintenance costs. The membranes also have a relatively long operation life. In connection with the financing, Gianni Operto with Emerald has joined the fluXXion Board of Directors.
Visit: www.fluxxion.com