Intel banks on sunny German disposition

INTEL IS BANKING on a sunny German summer, after investing €24 million in a Berlin solar module manufacturing company, Sulfurcell GmbH.

The money, coughed up by Intel Capital, the firm’s deep-pocketed venture capital branch, will help Sulfurcell churn out its thin-film monolithic solar modules, and help Intel look greener and more environmentally friendly in the process.

Sulfurtech uses lots of not very green sounding materials including sulphur and selenium as absorber materials in its modules to magically transform sunlight into electricity. Thin film is also thought to have the advantage of being generally cheaper than alternative polysilicon versions used by other solar module manufacturers.

Chipzilla isn't the only company throwing cash Sulfurcell’s way. In a press release, Sulfurcell noted that Intel’s dosh was just part of a larger financing package of about €85 million, including €12 million from Climate Change Capital Private Equity and contributions from AIG Investments, Demeter Partners, Zouk Ventures, BankInvest Group and Conetwork.

Dr Nikolaus Meyer, Sulfurcell’s CEO reckoned that, "This funding round constitutes a major milestone for Sulfurcell," adding that, "During its three years of operation, Sulfurcell’s current pilot production line has been successfully ramped to volume and reached a high level of maturity along all key process indicators including module power, throughput and yield.”

Heiko von Dewitz, Investment Director of Intel Capital's clean tech investments in Europe and Israel, noted that Intel Capital had singled out Sulfurcell for investment because its type of thin-film photovoltaics had showed such potential for high conversion efficiencies. He also said the technology provided, "Opportunities for further reduction of cost per watt, and enable[d] emerging applications."

These applications are believed to refer to integrated photovoltaics, either slapped on rooftops or stuck on the front of buildings, for example.

Intel seems to be really sinking its teeth into the solar energy market. Last month, the firm, maybe jealous of the likes of HP and IBM which thought of it first, announced that it too would be pushing ahead with its very own spinoff solar cell manufacturing company, SpectraWatt. The new spin-off, which raised $50 million in its first investment round, also counted Goldman Sachs subsidiary Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund, and German solar company Solon amongst its investors.

Arvind Sodhani Intel Capital president, confirmed in a press release that, " Investments into clean tech such as solar energy take center stage for Intel capital, in particular against the background of constantly rising energy costs for consumers and enterprises."

Meyer added that his firm’s capacity expansion to 75 MW would allow annual production volume to respond to the rapidly increasing demand from customers in all market segments.

Let’s hope you’re not getting too carried away there sunshine. µ

See Also
Intel gets into photovoltaics
IBM and TOK team up on solar cells