Solar Energy Research

⚠ Disclaimer: This section may contain incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate entries. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the source materials listed in individual entries.

Overview

Covers the science and commercialization of solar energy, including photovoltaic materials, thermochemical storage, concentrated solar, and the researchers and companies at the frontier.

Sections

  • Azur Space Solar Power — Heilbronn, Germany-based manufacturer of space-grade triple- and quadruple-junction GaAs solar cells; subsidiary of 5N Plus; over 60 years of heritage; 4G32C quadruple-junction cells reach 32% BOL efficiency; 6 million+ multi-junction cells delivered.
  • Caelux — Baldwin Park, CA perovskite solar glass maker; Active Glass is paired with silicon modules to form Hybrid Tandem modules; $12M Series A3 led by Temasek (August 2023, $24M total Series A); first commercial shipment July 2025.
  • Saule Technologies — Wroclaw, Poland flexible perovskite solar developer; delisted from the Warsaw NewConnect market on 2026-06-26 after not publishing annual reports for 2024 and 2025; co-founder Olga Malinkiewicz says operations and the factory have not resumed.
  • SolAero Technologies (Rocket Lab) — Albuquerque, NM-based space solar cell and panel manufacturer; acquired by Rocket Lab in 2022 for $80M; powers 1,100+ satellites including Ingenuity Mars helicopter; produces STARRAY modular solar arrays; supplies Next-Gen OPIR and NASA Gateway solar power.
  • Spectrolab — Sylmar, CA-based Boeing subsidiary and dominant US producer of multi-junction GaAs solar cells for satellites and spacecraft; over 70 years of heritage; XTE+ cells reach 33% BOL efficiency.
  • Swift Solar — Perovskite and perovskite-silicon tandem solar developer spun out of Stanford, MIT and NREL (founded 2017); acquired Meyer Burger heterojunction manufacturing assets and IP in March 2026 to build a US gigawatt-scale HJT and tandem factory.
  • Tandem PV — California perovskite-silicon tandem solar module developer; $50M Series A and debt round led by Eclipse (March 2025); opened a roughly 40 MW demonstration factory in Fremont, CA in April 2026 with 29.7% panel efficiency claimed.
  • Ubiquitous Energy — Redwood City, CA transparent solar window developer (ClimateSmart); raised more than $70M including a $30M Series B in January 2022; stopped operating in April (reported December 2024), citing hard market adoption in building-integrated solar.

Entries