crystalsol is a Vienna, Austria- and Tallinn, Estonia-based developer of a new type of flexible photovoltaic film intended for integration into building elements of various shapes and sizes. Its core innovations include a light-absorbing active layer made of crystalline semiconductor powder and a low-cost roll-to-roll production process. The company is led by co-founder and COO Thomas Badegruber. crystalsol closed an €8m Series A financing to support its development and pilot production efforts. The capital will be used to continue product development with a focus on ramping up a low-investment roll-to-roll pilot production line for semifinished photovoltaic film. Public funds also contributed to the financing alongside private investors. Crystalsol develops a powder-based photovoltaic technology based on copper-zinc-tin-sulfoselenide (CZTSSe), which the company says can eliminate the need for scarce metals such as indium and tellurium. The firm intends to commercialize this new semiconductor material and become the world’s first photovoltaic company to do so. Crystalsol will use the seed financing to accelerate development of its powder-based photovoltaic technology. Management emphasized the strength of the team and its intellectual property portfolio in securing funding. The company was founded in 2008 as a spin-off from Tallinn University of Technology and is based in Tallinn. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

Total raised

$14M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jan 2013