Why Solar Power Needs a Manufacturing Revolution

Solar startup 1366 Technologies won a prestigious Energy Dept. grant for a direct wafer technology that could halve the cost of photovoltaic installation

"Inventing disruptive manufacturing innovations is every bit as hard as inventing new materials," says Frank van Mierlo, president and co-founder of 1366 Technologies. Solar power, if it's going to compete on cost with coal and other fossil fuels, needs both. It's on that premise that 1366, a developer of new machines and processes that can be easily integrated into solar companies' existing manufacturing lines, has based its business model.

Based in Lexington, Mass., 1366 spun out of MIT in 2007 and raised $12.4 million from Polaris Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners the following year. It now has the distinction of being the sole photovoltaic company selected for the first round of grants under the Energy Dept.'s high-risk energy tech fund, the highly competitive ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) program.

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