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Israeli TiO₂ start up raises funds but silent on licensing deal

Dye-sensitized titanium-dioxide (TiO₂) solar cell start up Orionsolar Ltd. reported second-round financing of $750,000 in mid-May through the New York investment group 21 Ventures LLC.

© Orionsolar Ltd.

Start up Orionsolar Ltd. CEO David Wainmann and his team raised new funding to continue development of dye-sensitized solar cells.

But the Israeli-based joint venture declined to say when – or if – it had been licensed to use the technology by its inventor and patent holder, Michael Graetzel. CEO David Wainmann would only confirm that the company, which raised $500,000 in the first round, is not seeking any more funding at the moment.

Orionsolar, founded in 2003, claims it can bring the production cost for the cells to below 40 euro cents (51.9¢) per W by »revising the concept and design« of the cell. Wainmann gave no details, saying only that the business plan called for non-vacuum production lines costing less than €2 million ($2.6 million) apiece. The company has grandiose production plans which call for four separate 15 MW capacity lines in different locations, not necessarily in Israel. Commercial production would not start before the end of 2006, Wainmann says.

While he didn't give the efficiency of the current 10 cm² prototype, Wainmann says the goal is an efficiency of 8 percent for »much larger« cells. Expected applications would be for portable electronic devices and use in inexpensive 60 W solar home systems for developing countries.