BioSolar, Inc. surprised
attendees at today's SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San
Diego by revealing that materials derived from cotton and castor beans compose
the company's proprietary BioBacksheet(TM), a protective covering, traditionally
made from expensive petroleum-based film, used in the back of virtually all
photovoltaic solar cells.
“Until today, this information has remained highly-guarded over the past
18 months as BioSolar established academic and industry credibility,”
said BioSolar Chairman and CEO, Dr. David Lee. “Now that our technology
is strongly protected both domestically and abroad, we are able to share this
exciting news with the public.”
While not revealing core proprietary or patent-pending elements of the intellectual
property, BioSolar's Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Stan Levy, divulged
in his presentation today that the bio-based components are a composite of cellulosic
material derived from cotton, combined with an arcane nylon (nylon 11) derived
from castor beans. Dr. Levy detailed the procedures and results of the company's
18-month product development effort to engineer the BioBacksheet™ from
non-food, plant-based materials. He provided an in-depth look at the science
and applied technology behind the unique bio-sustainable formulation and state-of-the-art
manufacturing processes used to create the company's BioBacksheet™
product. The two sustainably sourced components are combined utilizing the company's
proprietary manufacturing process.
“We have demonstrated that functional photovoltaic backsheets can be
produced from renewable resources,” said Dr. Levy. “We believe that
the BioBacksheet™ is a viable alternative to backsheets currently in use.
Not only is this product produced from sustainable and renewable resources,
but is expected to be more cost effective than the current backsheets.”
“Also, manufacturers currently enduring a six-month wait for materials
like DuPont's petroleum-based Tedlar protective material will undoubtedly
be interested in this development,” added Dr. Lee.
Dr. Levy further highlighted the fact that the materials – both individually
and in combination – meet or exceed the characteristics of various testing
and performance standards for the photovoltaic industry. While additional testing
is being conducted as part of the run-up to full-scale production, no fundamental
problems have been found with the product up to this point.
Dr. Lee gave high praise to Dr. Levy and the development team's efforts.
Commenting on the response to the presentation, Dr. Lee said, “As a publicly
traded company we have a responsibility to our shareholders to maximize the
value of their investment. With this presentation, Dr. Levy has laid out the
exciting results of the past year-and-a-half's hard work. This tremendous
success and the positive feedback from those manufacturers who have been testing
our product samples are guiding our drive to full production capacity.”
SPIE Optics+Photonics is the largest and most technically prestigious optical
sciences and technology meeting in North America. The Solar Energy + Applications
track of the conference is dedicated to finding ways to move toward secure,
affordable, and environmentally sustainable energy to meet the world's
accelerating energy needs.