PowerFilm, Inc. is a manufacturer of flexible thin film solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, or solar panels, based in Ames, Iowa and is a provider of solar products for industrial, consumer and military remote power applications. PowerFilm's amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film solar modules are both built into solar charger products as well as sold to OEM integrators.
Dr. Frank Jeffrey, (Chairman, CEO) Dr. Dan Stieler (President) Kip Johnson (VP Marketing & Sales) Jeff Anderson (VP Operations) Brad Scandrett (VP Engineering)
CEO Frank Jeffrey summarizes PowerFilm technology for the podcast interview The Naked Scientists[2] "The principal part of the solar cell itself in our cells is amorphous a silicon, which has an extremely high absorption coefficient so that we can have extremely thin semiconducting material that will still absorb a good portion of light. That thin material, even though if it were thick like a crystalline wafer, it would break, in the same type structure when it’s thin enough becomes flexible and tends to bend rather than break. So, that’s the key part, our basic absorber layer that absorbs the solar energy is only say, 5,000 angstroms thick. So it’s quite thin and flexible and we put it on a thin film plastic substrate that is also flexible and adds mechanical support and strength to the solar component."[3] Materials used in thin film absorb more light than traditional silicon cells and therefore can be made much thinner than crystalline cells (1 vs. 200 micrometres)[4]
Season 25 Episode 1 (4/2/15) of How It's Made shows the manufacture of the PowerFilm panels.
History
In 1983, thin film roll-to-roll solar cell research began at 3M. Research physicists Dr. Frank Jeffrey and Dr. Derrick Grimmer left 3M and founded Iowa Thin Film Technologies which then engaged in a partnership with 3M and Iowa State University.
In 1988, Iowa Thin Film Technologies broke ties from 3M and the company began working in a Department of Energy lab in Ames, Iowa.[5]
The company's first thin-film solar product was created in 1995.
In 1999, the company shipped thousands of solar panels due in large part to the "Y2K" scare. This resulted in the company's first profitable year.
2005: $3.2M contract announced to develop solar tent structures for the U.S. Army[6]
2007: Company goes public on the London stock exchange under the name PowerFilm, Inc. IPO ticker symbol PFLM
2008: Manufacturing plant expanded by 80,000 sq ft to accommodate additional production capability [7]
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Official website
August 17, 2023
powerfilm, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, assist,. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message PowerFilm Inc is a manufacturer of flexible thin film solar photovoltaic PV modules or solar panels based in Ames Iowa and is a provider of solar products for industrial consumer and military remote power applications PowerFilm s amorphous silicon a Si thin film solar modules are both built into solar charger products as well as sold to OEM integrators PowerFilm Inc TypePublic company LSE PFLM IndustryRenewable EnergyFounded1988 as Iowa Thin Film Technologies Inc FounderDr Frank Jeffrey Dr Derrick GrimmerHeadquartersU S Key peopleDr Frank Jeffrey Chairman CEO Dr Dan Stieler President Kip Johnson VP Marketing amp Sales Jeff Anderson VP Operations Brad Scandrett VP Engineering Products custom solar solution solar panels RevenueUS 10 333 926 2012 Net incomeUS 701 802 2012 Websitewww powerfilmsolar comFootnotes referencesFinancials from PowerFilm 2012 Annual Report 1 Contents 1 Technology 2 History 3 Products 4 Awards 5 ReferencesTechnology EditCEO Frank Jeffrey summarizes PowerFilm technology for the podcast interview The Naked Scientists 2 The principal part of the solar cell itself in our cells is amorphous a silicon which has an extremely high absorption coefficient so that we can have extremely thin semiconducting material that will still absorb a good portion of light That thin material even though if it were thick like a crystalline wafer it would break in the same type structure when it s thin enough becomes flexible and tends to bend rather than break So that s the key part our basic absorber layer that absorbs the solar energy is only say 5 000 angstroms thick So it s quite thin and flexible and we put it on a thin film plastic substrate that is also flexible and adds mechanical support and strength to the solar component 3 Materials used in thin film absorb more light than traditional silicon cells and therefore can be made much thinner than crystalline cells 1 vs 200 micrometres 4 Season 25 Episode 1 4 2 15 of How It s Made shows the manufacture of the PowerFilm panels History EditIn 1983 thin film roll to roll solar cell research began at 3M Research physicists Dr Frank Jeffrey and Dr Derrick Grimmer left 3M and founded Iowa Thin Film Technologies which then engaged in a partnership with 3M and Iowa State University In 1988 Iowa Thin Film Technologies broke ties from 3M and the company began working in a Department of Energy lab in Ames Iowa 5 The company s first thin film solar product was created in 1995 In 1999 the company shipped thousands of solar panels due in large part to the Y2K scare This resulted in the company s first profitable year 2005 3 2M contract announced to develop solar tent structures for the U S Army 6 2007 Company goes public on the London stock exchange under the name PowerFilm Inc IPO ticker symbol PFLM 2008 Manufacturing plant expanded by 80 000 sq ft to accommodate additional production capability 7 2010 Japan launches IKAROS The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency used PowerFilm Inc photovoltaic thin film in the world s first solar sail powered deep space satellite 8 2012 U S Army makes 3M PowerFilm foldable solar panel purchase 9 Products EditOEM thin film solar components Foldable solar chargers Rollable solar chargers Military solar products USB solar chargersAwards EditFLEXI Award 10 Prometheus 2010 Technology Company of the Year 11 Technology Association of Iowa Clean Tech Company of the Year 12 References Edit PowerFilm 2012 Annual Report Roll up and Roll Out Flexible Solar Cells 3 July 2010 The Naked Scientists Science Radio amp Science Podcasts March 2010 http www solard iastate edu project electricity html Iowa State University January 2009 About Us News Archived from the original on 2013 05 03 Retrieved 2013 08 18 2008 Annual Report http globaldocuments morningstar com documentlibrary document ded630f2979642ee msdoc original Japan to Launch Space Yacht Propelled by Solar Sail Bloomberg com 27 April 2010 Events Archived copy Archived from the original on 2010 08 02 Retrieved 2010 08 20 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link http www flextech org Feb 3 2010 http www siliconprairienews com 2010 04 tai s prometheus awards highlight innovation throughout iowa The Technology Association of Iowa amp LWBJ Financial Announce 2011 Prometheus Award Winners www technologyiowa org Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title PowerFilm amp oldid 1112542327, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
