MUNICH, Germany — Intel has invested €24 million (about $37.5 million) into Berlin-based solar module manufacturer Sulfurcell GmbH. The company produces monolithic solar modules that feature a high efficiency. The move is part of Intel's clean tech investment strategy.
Intel's investment is executed via the company's VC unit Intel Capital. The microprocessor vendor is the largest single investor in Sulfurcell. The current financing round allocates a total sum of €85 million.
The list of the investors include Climate Change Private Equity, semiconductor production engineering company M+W Zander, Swedish electric utility Vattenfall's VC arm Europe Venture Capital, and the Berlin-based Hahn-Meitner Institute (HMI) of which Sulfurcell is a spin-off.
For its thin film modules, Sulfurtech uses materials of the CIS/CIGSe (Copper/Indium/Sulfur/Selenium) family as absorber materials. The company claims that in a pilot production line it already manufactures high efficiency modules. The production process is suitable for mass production.
"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," explained in Intel Capital president Arvind Sodhani in a press release. "We invest in innovative technologies in order to boost alternative energy sources, reduce emissions and expand the usage of these technologies."
According to Heiko von Dewitz, investment director for Intel Capital, the semiconductor giant picked Sulfurcell for its investments because of the high efficiency of its thin film modules. In addition, Sulfurcell's technology opens perspectives for new application segments such as building integrated photovoltaics, for instance integrated solutions for rooftops and building fronts. Intel regards the investment in Sulfurcell as complementary to a recent investment in start-up SpectraWatt which produces silicon-based solar wafers, von Dewitz explained.
Sulfurcell was launched in 1999 by HMI graduate Nikolaus Meyer who serves as the company's CEO. Other members of the management team are COO Ruediger Stroh, formerly operations manager for NXP's wafer fab in Boeblingen, and Chief Manufacturing Officer Ulfert Ruehle, who joined the company after having gathered experience at Shell Solar in Camarillo, California.
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Executive pay:
The economy stinks. Rank-and-file engineers are feeling the pain. What about technology CEOs? We crunched the numbers buried in corporate financial statements to find out. Here's what we found.
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
Early predictions for 2010:
The electronics industry is recovering, but there is still some uncertainty in the market. Some see a boom year in 2010. Some see a double dip. So what's in store for the rest of this year and 2010?
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
