Mayaterials is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Solar Grade Silicon from Agricultural Byproducts. Their project will develop a process to convert renewable agricultural byproducts to solar grade silicon metal in an energy efficient and environmentally friendly manner. The hulls of rice and many other grain plants are rich in silica derived from the soil in which they are grown. This silica can be extracted in a highly purified form from rice hull ash to produce useful specialty chemicals. It can also be extracted to provide a basic feedstock for the production of solar grade silicon for the production of photovoltaic cells. This process will bypass the capital and energy intensive methods, such as the Siemens process, which are currently in use. The broader impact/commercial potential from this technology could develop a process which will enable the production of high purity silicon directly from agricultural byproducts without the use of the current energy intensive methods such as the Siemens process. The process uses an abundant waste product as a renewable material source in an energy-efficient manner to achieve a valuable product at low cost and with minimal environmental impact. Current production of crystalline photovoltaic cells is limited by the bottleneck of poly-silicon production. This innovative new process will enable downstream PV plants to run at full capacity, unconstrained by shortages of raw material, thus allowing more rapid adoption of solar energy at lower cost per kWp. Furthermore, the proposed process will be better for the environment in that it is much less energy intensive and uses less toxic chemicals than existing methods.

"olar Silicon is a project that I2BF Venture Capital and Arbat Capital have jointly undertaken in the city of Irkutsk (Far East Russia). The goal of the project is to establish production of multicrystalline silicon (multisilicon) ingots. Multisilicon is a key feedstock for solar cell production.nUsually, multicrystalline silicon is produced from metallurgical grade silicon through an energy and component - intensive Siemens Process, which involves a chloride-silane purification stage. Solar Silicon however, is using a new technological method of multisilicon production, developed by the Irkutsk Institute of Geochemistry. The method includes direct purification process in an arc furnace of high purity quartzite from one of the local Irkutsk Oblast mines. The direct method will allow 30-50% cost savings on each kilo of silicon produced.

Electrodynamic Applications is a company that received a STTR PHASE I grant for a project entitled: Plasma Processing of Agricultural Waste into Photovoltaic Silicon. Their project will investigate the production of silane gas (SiH4) and photovoltaic-grade silicon (Sipv) from high silicon content agricultural waste. Current solar cell production struggles against the tremendous cost and complexity of refining Sipv or its more valuable gaseous pre-cursor SiH4. It is believed that the application of electromagnetic energy via a hydrogen plasma can be used to break SiO2 bonds and refine SiH4 directly from both lower grade silicon and from agricultural waste. This is a vast improvement over the current technique which requires the use of highly toxic chemical intermediaries and complex and capital intensive systems. Creating Sipv and SiH4 at lower cost from domestically available renewable resources will enable more aggressive and diverse investment in emerging solar energy technologies. This will help move the US toward nationally independent and environmentally clean energy, providing a broad positive impact both in terms of economy and national security.

Silicon Photonics Group is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Advanced Si-Ge-Sn-based Photonic Materials and Devices. Their research project aims to demonstrate prototype infrared light detectors and photovoltaic (solar cell) devices based on technology developed at Arizona State University. The new technology to be explored consists in growing optical-quality alloys of tin and germanium (Ge1-ySny) directly on silicon wafers. These alloys act as infrared materials, and they can also be used as templates for the subsequent growth of other semiconductors on silicon. Of particular interest for this project is the ternary alloy Ge1-x-ySixSny, grown for the first time at Arizona State University. Using this technology, it should be possible to build infrared detectors covering a spectral range previously inaccessible to silicon-based detectors, and to build multijunction photovoltaic devices for a more efficient capture of solar photons. The fabrication of semiconductor devices on cheap silicon wafers is of great significance because of the potentially enormous cost reductions and the possibility of integrating optoelectronic and microelectronic functions, which further reduces costs and contributes to system miniaturization. The infrared detectors proposed here cover the so-called telecom C-,L-, and U-bands within the wavelength window around 1500 nm, a region of great interest to the telecommunications industry. In the photovoltaics arena, the proposed devices have the potential to offer increased efficiencies to make crystalline silicon-based devices competitive with amorphous silicon solutions.

NEI Corporation is a Somerset, NJ based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into NEI Corporation's business and areas of expertise. This project will develop a mercury remediation solution for use in contaminated U. S. Department of Energy waste sites, thereby leading to cost savings and reducing the time for treating waste. This project will develop a nanoparticle-based technology that will enable coal-fired power plants to use sources of water other than conventional rivers or lakes. The nanoparticle-based technology also will be a cost-effective means of reducing the amount of toxic metals in waste water streams. This project will develop a nanotechnology-based coating for industrial vapor-to-liquid heat exchangers to enhance their performance by an order of magnitude and improve the energy efficiency of associated industrial processes. This project will enhance the properties of elastomeric seals for use in geothermal energy production and has the potential to prevent failure of equipment and to allow the down-hole equipment to run unattended for extended periods of time, greater than 5 to 10 years, without maintenance. This project will develop nanoparticle-enabled fluid technology to enhance the performance of heat exchangers used in small refining operations across the nation. The enhanced performance of the heat exchangers will lead to cost and energy savings. This project will develop technology to enable a new generation of lithium-ion batteries to deliver the required energy storage capacity at an economical price, making Li-ion batteries for electric utility and vehicles applications more affordable. This project will develop non-chromate corrosion inhibiting coating systems to enable the use of light weight magnesium alloys in automobiles. The result will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs to consumers. This project will develop a nanotechnology-based, self-healing industrial coating. Self-healing coatings will have significantly enhanced operational lives, thereby reducing installation and repair costs. There is a present need for sorbent technologies to enable coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions. This project will develop a novel environmentally friendly sorbent technology to meet this emerging market need. This project will develop and implement a new class of 5V high voltage Li-ion battery cathode material for next generation plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). This project will develop advanced materials for use as the internal wall of a fusion power reactor is expected to enable fusion power to be developed as a sustainable source of energy. This project will develop a new chemistry for Flow Batteries so that it is highly efficient, has long cycle life, and is low cost and non-toxic. The flow batteries can be used by utilities, in conjunction with green power generation, such as solar, wind turbine and fuel cell. The proposed technology will reduce the cost of the mercury removal from coal fired power plants, thereby allowing power plant utility companies to comply with mercury regulation. The proposed novel modified dielectric percolative composites will be reliable and will have high dielectric constant, thereby delivering high energy density to future solid state pulsed power systems.

developed a technology that aims to allow for more efficient use of crystalline silicon in solar cells - a that could allow solar cells to generate electricity at costs competitive with conventional energy sources.