Solar wafer producer 1366 Technologies has received $10m from Hanwha Investment Corporation to support construction of its first commercial factory.
US-based silicon wafer manufacturer 1366 Technologies has received $10m in funding from Hanwha Investment Corporation, an investment subsidiary of conglomerate Hanwha.
Spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007, 1366 produces wafers for solar panels in a single step from molten silicon. It claims the technology is cheaper and more energy efficient than the traditional method of casting and cutting.
The cash will support construction of 1366’s first large-scale commercial manufacturing plant, which is expected to be operational in 2017.The company has now raised about $80m in total.
1366 closed a $22.5m series C round led by venture capital firm Haiyin Capital in April 2015 that included chemicals producer Tokuyama and Energy Technology Ventures, a joint venture of industrial conglomerate General Electric and utility companies NRG Energy and ConocoPhillips.
North Bridge Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, VantagePoint Capital Partners and Vorndran Mannheims Capital also invested in the round.
The company had already closed a $28.4m series B round in 2011 backed by Hanwha subsidiary Hanwha Chemical, GE Energy Financial Services, which acts as a subsdiary of General Electric, North Bridge, Polaris and Vorndran Mannheims.
1366 previously raised $21.5m over three rounds from North Bridge, Polaris and the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy initiative.
– This article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.
