Applied Nanotech
Holdings, Inc. (OTC BB: APNT) announced that it has been selected by the
U.S. Department of Energy to receive a contract of approximately $750,000 for
the development of non-contact, printable metallic inks for silicon solar cells.
During this two year Phase II Small Business Innovation Research program, Applied
Nanotech will focus on improving methods for the application of metallic electrodes
to silicon photovoltaic (PV) substrates using its unique metallic nanoparticle-based
inks. Electrical contacts are a critical part of PV technology and represent
a difficult and costly area for solar cell production. This development program
will exploit advances in nanotechnology to lower manufacturing costs and improve
solar cell efficiency.
This program is particularly important since using very thin silicon wafers
in an effort to reduce silicon usage has resulted in wafers that are susceptible
to breakage when utilizing traditional contact printing methods such as screen
printing.
“Our company is just beginning our foray into renewable energy. This
funding will allow us to continue to build upon our expertise in development
of nanoparticle-based technical inks for applications of global significance
with strong commercial potential,” stated Douglas Baker, CEO of Applied
Nanotech Holdings, Inc.