On December 15th, Governor Ted Strickland, Eric D. Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and Chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, and Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development and commission member, awarded $6 Million in funding through the Ohio Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program.
“Ohio Third Frontier is critical to the growth of our state’s photovoltaic sector,” Strickland said. “Ohioans are finding new job opportunities while continuing to grow our advanced energy economy as innovative technologies are developed across our state.”
The Ohio Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program supports the research and development that addresses the technical and cost barriers to commercialization of photovoltaic components and systems in Ohio. The awards are contingent upon State Controlling Board approval.
"This funding catalyzes the transformation of cutting edge research - much of it pioneered in the laboratories of the University System of Ohio - into successful Ohio businesses and 21st century Ohio jobs," said Chancellor Fingerhut. "As the nation looks to renewable energies, Ohio's position as a leader in photovoltaic production builds a foundation for the state's economic future."
The Ohio Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program accelerates the development and growth of the photovoltaic industry in Ohio by direct financial support to organizations seeking to: investigate nearterm specific commercial objectives with respect to products, processes, or services; commercialize new products, commercialize manufacturing processes or technologies, or adapt or modify existing components or systems that can reduce the cost of photovoltaic systems or address technical and commercialization barriers; or demonstrate market readiness.
“Ohio Third Frontier is compelling strong partnerships across our state, making resources available to the photovoltaic industry helping them to grow and thrive,” said Patt-McDaniel. “Strategic investments from Ohio Third Frontier have helped our state become home to a dynamic cluster of people and companies leading the next generation solar industry.”
Fiscal Year 2010 Ohio Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program Awards:
Xunlight Corporation, located in the City of Toledo (Lucas County), in collaboration with Concept Solutions Corporation and The Ohio State University, was awarded $999,271 for its Next Generation Solar Module Manufacturing Technology project. Xunlight will develop next generation technologies for selected, high-impact areas of its module manufacturing lines. It is expected that the new module technology will be highly automated and will enable cost-effective, local, Ohio-based processing of the cells.
Ferro Corporation, located in the City of Independence (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with the Edison Welding Institute, StrateNexus Technologies, and The Ohio State University, was awarded $1million for its Advanced Durability Sealing Systems for Solar Cells project. Ferro Corporation will engineer a vitreous frit system to reliably hermetically seal second and third generation thin film solar cells for the desired service life of the solar module.
Glasstech, Inc., located in the City of Perrysburg (Wood County), in collaboration with Pioneer Industrial Systems, was awarded $1 million for its Commercialization of a Heat Treating Process to Strengthen Large, Thinner Glass Substrates for PV Panels project. Glasstech will develop an electrically based heat treating process for larger, thinner, and flatter glass substrates than the current industry standard. This technology will assist the PV market in expansion in the U.S. and worldwide.
SCI Engineered Materials, Inc., located in the City of Columbus (Franklin County), in collaboration with Robinson Fin Machines, was awarded $775,400 for its Commercialization of Advanced Attachment Technology for Rotatable Ceramic Sputtering Targets Used for Thin Film PV Solar Cell Manufacturing project. SCI will commercialize an attachment process for fabrication of rotatable ceramic sputtering targets for use in the manufacturing of Thin Film Photovoltaic Solar Cells.
Five Star Technologies, Inc., located in the City of Independence (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with the Photovoltaic Innovation Center at the University of Toledo, was awarded $1 million for its Commercialization of Specialty Electronic Inks for Advances in Photovoltaic Technology project. Five Star will commercialize revolutionary inks that have been successfully demonstrated at test labs and alpha customers. The advanced inks enable a new generation of solar cells and can be incorporated immediately into existing cell fabrication lines.
Replex Plastics, located in the City of Mount Vernon (Knox County), in collaboration with Dovetail Solar & Wind and the Photovoltaic Innovation Center at the University of Toledo, was awarded $1.25 million for its Low-Cost Low-Concentration Photovoltaic Systems for Mid-Northern Latitudes project. Replex will commercialize low-cost, low-concentration photovoltaic modules that use inexpensive acrylic mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto photovoltaic cells. This project is expected to create more than 200 jobs at Replex.
To view Ohio Third Frontier’s Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report, as well as other program information, please visit www.OhioThirdFrontier.com.
Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to create new technology-based products, companies, industries and jobs, has commercialized or created more-than 550 companies and attracted $3.5 billion in private investment to Ohio, a 9:1 return on investment since its inception.
