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Founded Year

2010

Stage

Grant | Alive

Total Raised

$142.2M

Last Raised

$10.82M | 3 yrs ago

About Oxford Photovoltaics

Oxford Photovoltaics develops a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell that is optimized to drive a paradigm shift in the aesthetics, performance and cost of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. Oxford PV's solid-state DSC has been specifically developed to overcome problems through using a solid-state redox couple, the energy of which can be much more closely matched to the energy of the hole on the dye, minimizing the voltage loss in the dye regeneration process.

Headquarters Location

Unit 7-8 Oxford Industrial Park Mead Road, Yarnton

Oxford, England, OX5 1QU,

United Kingdom

+44 (0)1865 951 500

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Oxford Photovoltaics's Product Videos

ESPs containing Oxford Photovoltaics

The ESP matrix leverages data and analyst insight to identify and rank leading companies in a given technology landscape.

EXECUTION STRENGTH ➡MARKET STRENGTH ➡LEADERHIGHFLIEROUTPERFORMERCHALLENGER
Industrials / Energy Tech

Perovskite solar cells are a type of photovoltaic technology that use a hybrid organic-inorganic material to convert sunlight into electricity. They have the potential to be more efficient and cheaper than traditional silicon-based solar cells. However, they are still in the early stages of development and face challenges such as stability and scalability.

Oxford Photovoltaics named as Leader among 7 other companies, including Microquanta, Enecoat Technologies, and Tandem PV.

Oxford Photovoltaics's Products & Differentiators

    Solar cell

    High efficiency M6 tandem solar cell

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Research containing Oxford Photovoltaics

Get data-driven expert analysis from the CB Insights Intelligence Unit.

CB Insights Intelligence Analysts have mentioned Oxford Photovoltaics in 2 CB Insights research briefs, most recently on Sep 12, 2022.

Expert Collections containing Oxford Photovoltaics

Expert Collections are analyst-curated lists that highlight the companies you need to know in the most important technology spaces.

Oxford Photovoltaics is included in 2 Expert Collections, including Renewable Energy.

R

Renewable Energy

4,043 items

Companies in the Renewable Energy space, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear energy providers, as well as related software developers.

S

Semiconductors, Chips, and Advanced Electronics

6,472 items

Companies in the semiconductors & HPC space, including integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), fabless firms, semiconductor production equipment manufacturers, electronic design automation (EDA), advanced semiconductor material companies, and more

Oxford Photovoltaics Patents

Oxford Photovoltaics has filed 18 patents.

The 3 most popular patent topics include:

  • Photovoltaics
  • Solar cells
  • Energy conversion
patents chart

Application Date

Grant Date

Title

Related Topics

Status

3/13/2019

9/12/2023

Photovoltaics, Solar cells, Spectroscopy, Energy conversion, Perovskites

Grant

Application Date

3/13/2019

Grant Date

9/12/2023

Title

Related Topics

Photovoltaics, Solar cells, Spectroscopy, Energy conversion, Perovskites

Status

Grant

Latest Oxford Photovoltaics News

Weekend Read: Mapping a path to tandem commercialisation

Aug 18, 2023

Image: Oxford PV Share pv magazine: Oxford PV is developing two-terminal, perovskite-silicon tandem technology made with heterojunction (HJT) solar cells. What is the current cell size at your manufacturing facility near Berlin, Germany? Chris Case: Since the target market is rooftop module manufacturers selling 400 W-plus modules, the size is M6 (166mm). Any bigger than that and the finished modules, which typically contain 60 M6 cells, become too heavy for single-person installation. Note that Fraunhofer ISE certified an M4 or 258.15 cm² cell because the cells we shipped for testing were made before upgrading the line to M6. What does your roadmap look like today? Since 2017, Oxford PV has consistently pushed the efficiency of its tandem cells by 1% a year. We have a clear roadmap to take the technology beyond 33% efficiency, at a rate of about 1% per year. We have figured out what it takes to scale from lab-scale or research-sized cells, typically 1 cm², to commercial-sized cells over 250 cm². We welcome the remarkable efficiency achievements to above 33% of KAUST [King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, in Saudi Arabia]. The research institutes, like Helmholtz [Zentrum Berlin] and KAUST, are showing what can be done, albeit with research-sized cells. What advantages do you foresee for module makers who use your cells compared to conventional silicon PV? Looking at the history of major step changes in the traditional silicon solar cell and module market, many manufacturers have chosen low-risk and low capital cost strategies. The move from back surface field solar cells to passivated structures, such as PERC [passivated emitter rear contact], required a limited number of new steps and process tools. Similarly, the move to even more advanced passivated devices, such as TOPCon [tunnel oxide passivated contact], are again taken with adapting existing factory process flows. This is where heterojunction is unique because it needs a greenfield, new factory. The reward of HJT is a very high-efficiency and very high-voltage solar cell. The high voltage is critical for the two-terminal tandem cell because the tandem device is effectively two series-connected solar cells, one is silicon and the other is the wide-bandgap perovskite cell. The absolute performance of a high efficiency multi-junction solar cell counts on its voltage, which is what can deliver the extra energy. A TOPCon cell will always have a 20 or so millivolt (mV) deficit in open circuit voltage compared to HJT and we don’t want to give up those 20 mV, which contribute to performance. It is one of the reasons we selected HJT back in 2014 for our bottom cell and we remain committed to that decision. You have a research and development site in Oxford, England, and an integrated production line in Germany. The company also recently registered a US subsidiary. Could you talk about your plans in the United States? We established a subsidiary in the USA anticipating the potential to manufacture locally. It positions us well to apply for funding for US- based manufacturing. We have not made a decision as to the location of our next factory and options include expanding where we are in Germany, other locations in Europe and, of course, the US is a possibility. How easy is it to find talented engineers, testers, and process specialists? Are you hiring? I cannot recall a time in our 13-year history when we did not have solicitations for new hires and indeed we are hiring, both in the UK and in Germany. Having said that, there is competition for workers in many technology fields and as we exit the pandemic, the competition can be fierce. Our inclusive and diverse culture has rewarded us with extremely low turnover and it has never been necessary to have a reduction of the workforce. For the UK, Brexit has not been kind, requiring us to subsidize the right to work in the UK for talent that comes from the EU. Fortunately, keeping existing staff that are EU citizens but do not have UK citizenship was mostly a formality. What are the next milestones for Oxford PV? Although Oxford PV has begun initial production, there are additional milestones to be achieved before our direct customers, the module partners, can offer assembled modules to customers – and that is certification to the [International Electrotechnical Commission] IEC 61215 standard. This certification, along with its companion safety standard, is the assurance to end users that the module is fit for purpose and safe. In this case, the standards have not been fully adapted for this kind of multi-junction solar module so we must offer the early adopters a certification with a number of explanations. This will not affect the safety standard, for which the existing standard can be used without modification, amendment, or explanation. Fast facts about Oxford PV Founded in 2010; more than 550 patents; German production line has nameplate capacity of 100 MW; First commercial-sized perovskite-silicon tandem cell in 2017; 29.52% efficiency for champion lab-scale cell achieved in 2020; Reached 28.6% efficiency for commercial-sized cells in May 2023. This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com . <

Oxford Photovoltaics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • When was Oxford Photovoltaics founded?

    Oxford Photovoltaics was founded in 2010.

  • Where is Oxford Photovoltaics's headquarters?

    Oxford Photovoltaics's headquarters is located at Unit 7-8 Oxford Industrial Park, Oxford.

  • What is Oxford Photovoltaics's latest funding round?

    Oxford Photovoltaics's latest funding round is Grant.

  • How much did Oxford Photovoltaics raise?

    Oxford Photovoltaics raised a total of $142.2M.

  • Who are the investors of Oxford Photovoltaics?

    Investors of Oxford Photovoltaics include Brandenburg Ministry of Economics, Meyer Burger Technology, Legal & General Capital, Goldwind, Equinor Ventures and 9 more.

  • Who are Oxford Photovoltaics's competitors?

    Competitors of Oxford Photovoltaics include Sunflex Solar.

  • What products does Oxford Photovoltaics offer?

    Oxford Photovoltaics's products include Solar cell.

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Trusted by the world's smartest companies to:
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  • Stalk the smart money
  • Identify tomorrow's challengers
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