Saturday, January 12, 2013

Another US Solar Firm Sold To The Chinese

Another Young Gun that benefitted from the USPTO Green Technology Pilot Program's accelerated examination program has been sold to a Chinese company.

On January 10th, 2013 MiaSole, founded in 2003,  announced that Hanergy Holding Company of China has acquired the company and its technology for a fraction of the funds  the start-up received from its investors.  Investors put $550 million into the firm.  Hangery is paying about $30

MiaSole's received  patents  US 7897020 , US 7829783 and US7960643 under the green tech program.  MiaSole's thin film products, called CIGS technology, use copper, indium, gallium and selenide.  This technology is lighter than traditional silicon based products and can be layered between sheets of glass that can be used as tinted windows on a building or integrated into flexible material for use on rooftops.

What Solar Tech Do The Chinese Get This Time?

Here's a partial list of the intellectual property that the Chinese get this time.  It doesn't include trade secrets or pending patent applications.  This is a significant portfolio of thin film solar technology and methods for making those products.


PAT. NO.Title
18,342,229Method of making a CIG target by die casting
28,338,214Sodium salt containing CIG targets, methods of making and methods of use thereof
38,329,496Dithered scanned laser beam for scribing solar cell structures
48,227,287Partially transmitted imaged laser beam for scribing solar cell structures
58,203,200Diode leadframe for solar module assembly
68,134,069Method and apparatus for controllable sodium delivery for thin film photovoltaic materials
78,123,565External electrical connectors for solar modules
88,115,095Protective layer for large-scale production of thin-film solar cells
98,110,738Protective layer for large-scale production of thin-film solar cells
108,076,174Method of forming a sputtering target
118,062,384Systems, methods and apparatuses for magnetic processing of solar modules
128,058,752 Thin-film photovoltaic power element with integrated low-profile high-efficiency DC-DC converter
13 8,048,707 Sulfur salt containing CIG targets, methods of making and methods of use thereof
148,048,706 Ablative scribing of solar cell structures
15 8,017,976Barrier for doped molybdenum targets
168,004,232Method of battery charging and power control in conjunction with maximum power point tracking
177,963,802External electrical connectors for solar modules
187,960,643Isolated metallic flexible back sheet for solar module encapsulation
197,935,558Sodium salt containing CIG targets, methods of making and methods of use thereof
20 7,927,912Method of forming a sputtering target
217,897,020 Method for alkali doping of thin film photovoltaic materials
22 7,838,763Manufacturing apparatus and method for large-scale production of thin-film solar cells
237,829,783 Isolated metallic flexible back sheet for solar module encapsulation
247,785,921 Barrier for doped molybdenum targets
257,544,884Manufacturing method for large-scale production of thin-film solar cells
26 6,974,976 Thin-film solar cells