1366 Technologies announced it secured another $10 million investment in its current series C round from Korea’s Hanwha Investment Corporation. This brings the total for the round to $32.5 million, and the company says that it will invest the $10 million in its new factory underway in Upstate New York.
The new factory in Genesee County will make 1366’ kerfless wafers, which are produced directly from molten silicon using its Direct Wafer technology. The capacity to produce 250 MW of wafers annually is planned for the first phase of the factory, and 1366 already holds a contract to supply Hanwha Q Cells with 700 MW of Direct Wafers.
The solar industry is as promising as it is dynamic and complex. Intricate supply chains spread across a globe that has never been more in need of a clean, renewable source of power. The grand challenge of solar is to deliver at the cost of coal. To meet this challenge, we must rapidly innovate and scale. But the desires to innovate and scale sometimes compete. Manufacturers are discerning customers who need proof not promises. They demand technologies and components that have been thoroughly tested, have a low risk of failure, and are ready to scale. The key is to develop technologies that meet these market demands for innovation and easy adoption.
At 1366 Technologies their approach is simple. They take the most proven, safe, abundant material in the solar industry–silicon– and develop practical manufacturing solutions that increase efficiency and dramatically cut cost. Our manufacturing solutions are compatible with existing supply chain processes, delivering a large impact without the complexity. They have assembled one of the top technology teams in the solar industry and are developing a series of innovations to drive down the levelized cost of solar electricity. Their first target is the wafer. 1366’s Direct Wafer™ technology has the potential to revolutionize the wafer manufacturing by eliminating process steps, time, and waste with an elegant, scalable process. And there is more to come.