• SulfurCell

  Participated · Equity · Jan 2011

  Sulfurcell develops, manufactures and sells CIGS/CIGSe thin‑film photovoltaic modules and building-integrated PV solutions for BIPV, solar construction and commercial rooftops. The company has commercialized at scale since shipping its first modules in 2005 and is ramping up a 35 MW production facility. Sulfurcell reports manufacturing full‑scale thin‑film modules at 12.6% efficiency and is targeting 14% efficiency within 12–18 months through ongoing R&D. The company employs about 250 people and has developed an automated industrial manufacturing process for its second‑generation thin‑film technology. Sulfurcell was founded in 2001 as a spin‑off from the Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy and has received multiple rounds of growth financing to support production and R&D, including a prior €85m round used to build a Berlin production facility. The recent equity raise will fund expansion and market introduction of its second‑generation CIGSe PV technology.

• Solyndra

  Participated · Convertible Note · Jan 2009

  Solyndra produces cylindrical thin-film solar PV modules that are mounted horizontally for faster, lower-cost rooftop installations and capture direct and reflected sunlight across a 360-degree surface. Its 200 Series product has seen strong acceptance, and the company reported annual revenues exceeding $140 million last year. Solyndra has shipped nearly 100 megawatts of panels and completed more than 1,000 installations in 20 countries. The company completed a 300,000 square foot manufacturing and customer demonstration facility and plans to install remaining production tools in 2011 to bring its annual production run rate to approximately 200 MW by year-end, rising to 300 MW when fully ramped. The new facility is expected to enable an installed system cost-of-goods-sold of approximately $2 per watt in the first quarter of 2013. Solyndra employs about 1,050 people and says it aims to be cash-flow positive by the end of the year while pursuing cost reductions and expanded sales and marketing. Solyndra manufactures cylindrical solar photovoltaic panels. The company secured a $535M loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, funded under the Recovery Act, to finance the first phase of its second manufacturing facility near its Fremont plant. The new plant is designed to produce 500 megawatts per year and will enable Solyndra to fulfill a contractual backlog of over $2 billion. Solyndra estimates the project will create 3,000 initial construction jobs and as many as 1,000 jobs once the facility opens, plus hundreds of installer jobs nationwide. Across both facilities, production over their lifetime is projected to cut more than 350 million metric tons of CO2 emissions or the equivalent of 850 million barrels of oil. CEO Dr. Chris Gronet said the funding supports economic recovery and the planet’s need for clean-tech solutions and thanked President Barack Obama, the DOE, Congress and the company’s investors. Solyndra manufactures copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar panels for installation. The company reported $1.2 billion in contracts for its panels through 2012. In the new year it raised $219.2 million in a fifth-round financing from a syndicate of 23 investors. The financing breakdown was $96.6 million allocated as working capital and $122.2 million in convertible promissory notes. Solyndra has not disclosed specific plans for the proceeds or whether the raise is part of the $600 million in capital it said it had lined up in October. GreenTechMedia reported this infusion could form the bulk of a larger $350 million goal for the round.

No current team members are available.