3GSolar Photovoltaics is a developer of solar energy using DSC (dye solar cell) photovoltaic technology with first applications for off-grid rural areas. DSC is a cost-effective alternative to silicon and thin film-based systems, providing an environmentally-friendly solution that produces electricity efficiently even in low light conditions.n

Whitfield Solar was set up in 2004 as a vehicle to commercialise 30 years of research by Dr. George Whitfield from the University of Reading into low-cost solar concentrators. He was joined at the Solar Concentrator Group by fellow founders Dr Roger Bentley and Dr Clive Weatherby. A key part of this work was the optimisation of the size of optical elements and concentration ratios used to ensure the most cost-effective PV concentrator systems.

AOS Solar was started in 2005 to combine the material cost and manufacturing process economics of thin film solar PV with the efficiency and reliability of crystalline silicon solar PV. The company have an initial prototype solar coupon built and tested using technology. nnThe company's key enablers to achieve market traction are the cost and reliability of the company's product. The silicon on glass (SOG) technology the company are developing will enable solar panels costing around $1/watt to manufacture on the company's pilot line, with lower costs as the company ramp up production due to manufacturing efficiencies and learning curve. Solar silicon is an established technology with proven 20+ year life (versus newer thin film technologies). nnToday the company have working coupons at 7.5% efficiency and the company are working to scale up to larger cells with target 9% efficiency in Q-1, 2008. The company's form factor and efficiency limits are based on first generation technology. By scaling the company's manufacturing and improving the company's technology the company expect to achieve 16 - 18% efficiency in a single junction and 22 - 24% efficiency in a double junction module. nnThe company's A round funding will be used to continue development of the company's equipment / process technology in order to manufacture on larger substrates (2.5' x 4' glass) and to design a scaled up manufacturing line (30+MW annual capacity) based on this development.

Concentrator Optics offers solutions encompassing design, prototyping and manufacturing of optical elements for the solar industry. The company's speciality are Fresnel lens parquets for concentrating photovoltaics (CPV). The company's customers benefit from the company's experts' competence gained through academic research on nonimaging optics and commercial development of solar applications. The company accompanied several solar projects from design to the market. The company's goal is the technology leadership in the solar lens market. research is an integral part of the company's strategy to ensure sustainable growth on a technology basis.

EcoVoltz is a developer of battery technology and power storage systems that integrate solar and wind power generation.

Isosceles is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Full Spectrum Conjugated Polymers for Highly Efficient Organic Photovoltaics. Their their award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and their project will demonstrate the feasibility of forming full spectrum highly efficient polymer solar cells from newly designed conjugated and potentially variable bandgap polymers that harvest visible through infrared light. The novel materials will be forged by incorporating Silole and donor-acceptor-donor moieties into the backbone and are expected to increase light harvesting and carrier mobility, and hence short circuit current output potentially by a factor of three over the state of the art. The key innovations of this work will also optimize energy levels to reduce voltage loss and further optimization of device structure and film morphology is expected improve fill factor. The primary objective of phase I is to determine the feasibility of forging full spectrum and high carrier mobility conjugated polymers that achieve highly efficient solar conversion. An ancillary goal of this work is arrive at an understanding of photophysical processes and device physics that will lead to optimal device fabrication during phase II. The environmental, societal and economic impacts of this technology are enormously broad. The ensuing abrupt drop in energy costs stemming from full spectrum harvesting promises to deliver stability and urgently needed relief to today's volatile oil based global economy. While photovoltaic (PV) production is already the fastest growing source of energy across the globe, the planned efforts of this STTR project are expected to disruptively reduce the projected cost of photovoltaic production in 2010 by a factor of 3. At a forecasted production cost of $0.70 per Watt, this research will demonstrate a technology that is competitive with the cost of electricity that is produced from fossil fuels. This technology will provide clean and cost competitive energy for home and industrial power, vehicle propulsion, consumer electronics, remote sensing, security, and an endless list of existing applications that currently rely on energy from fossil fuel.