Miasolé
| File:MiaSole logo small.png | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Solar Energy |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Jie Zhang (CEO) Lyndsey Zhang (CFO) Atiye Bayman (CTO) |
| Products | Solar panels & Solar Cell Production Systems |
Number of employees | 315 |
| Parent | Hanergy |
| Website | miasole.com |
MiaSolé is a solar energy firm based in the United States that specializes in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic technology. Its unique manufacturing technique involves depositing CIGS layers onto flexible stainless steel substrates through a continuous sputtering method. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, MiaSolé primarily serves large-scale commercial and utility solar markets. The company became a subsidiary of the Chinese renewable energy corporation Hanergy in 2013, which broadened its international presence and operational scope.
Company history
MiaSolé initially aimed to commence commercial production in 2006 but delayed this plan and appointed new leadership in 2007, adjusting the expected start to 2009. During 2008 and 2009, the focus was on optimizing manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. By the end of 2008, the company had established two 20-megawatt production lines and attained module efficiencies of 10.2%, as confirmed by NREL.
Production capacity grew from around 60 megawatts in 2010 to a projected 140 megawatts within the same year, with actual output near 20 megawatts in 2010 and approximately 40 megawatts in 2011. By mid-2012, MiaSolé operated a manufacturing plant in California capable of producing up to 150 megawatts, aligning with its expansion goals within the competitive solar sector.
Investment history
Funding for MiaSolé began in 2004 with VantagePoint Venture Partners leading the initial investment. In June 2005, the Series B financing round secured $16 million, spearheaded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, followed by an additional $35 million raised in October 2006. A fourth funding round in September 2007 brought $50 million, culminating in $100 million during early-stage financing. Overall, MiaSolé attracted roughly $500 million from investors such as VantagePoint, Kleiner Perkins, and Firelake Capital Management. Additionally, the company benefited from nearly $100 million in federal tax incentives provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. On January 9, 2013, MiaSolé was acquired by Hanergy for $30 million.
Technology
MiaSolé’s proprietary manufacturing approach draws on expertise from the hard disk drive and semiconductor fields. The process involves continuously sputtering copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) onto flexible stainless steel substrates—a technique widely used in high-volume thin-film production industries like disk drives and architectural glass.
Compared to amorphous silicon and cadmium telluride technologies, CIGS provides higher solar conversion efficiencies (reaching up to 20.3% in laboratory settings). Although mass production of CIGS has presented challenges, it is anticipated to exceed cadmium telluride in efficiency performance. The thin-film format also lowers costs due to reduced silicon substrate usage.
MiaSolé’s initial MR series modules delivered efficiencies exceeding 10%, verified by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and were pioneers as CIGS thin-film modules certified simultaneously under UL 1703 and IEC standards. As of October 2019, MiaSolé maintained records for flexible photovoltaic modules with commercial sizes achieving up to 18.6% efficiency and flexible mini-cells reaching efficiencies of 20.5%.
Production
Commercial distribution commenced in November 2009, with one of the initial shipments going to Chevron Brightfield located in Central California. In April 2011, MiaSole collaborated with Intel's Technical Manufacturing Services to implement Intel's "Copy Exactly!" approach, targeting an expansion of production capabilities beyond 150MW. By October 2011, MiaSole had delivered more than 55MW of modules worldwide and reached the milestone of manufacturing its 50 millionth cell by November 2011.
See also
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Engineering companies of the United States
- Solar energy companies of the United States
- Thin-film cell manufacturers
- Companies based in California
- 2001 establishments in California
- American companies established in 2001
- Companies based in Santa Clara, California
- 5
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment