Miasole, the Santa Clara start-up which makes super thin solar cell technology, has raised $35 million more in venture capital.
VentureWire has the scoop today (sub required). Miasole is one of a handful of players producing solar technology based on CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenium) and other new materials. CIGS allows the production of a paint-like product that is much more flexible than the traditional silicon, allowing it to be used in more areas, and potentially at lower cost.
These companies, which include Nanosolar, HelioVolt and Konarka are all racing to be first to market. Nanosolar made waves in June, when it declared it would build the world’s largest solar cell factory here in the SF Bay Area, and raised $75 million more to do that.
HelioVolt, an Austin, Tex. company, is still on the market trying to raise a reported $50 million.
In an interview with VentureWire in May, [Chief Executive David] Pearce said Miasole was in the process of building a production facility with 50 megawatts of capacity….So far, Miasole has raised at least $58 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Firelake Strategic Technology Fund, Garage Technology Ventures and Nippon Kouatsu Electric Co. Pearce would not comment on new investors in the round.
We’ve written about Miasole before.
3 Comments
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Tom Brock said:
I heard that Miasole had some key employees leaving recently and therefore could only raise so much less than Nanosolar (a third for a process that is still very capital intense). Still their investors seem to believe that they have a chance to off-load Miasole into the public market and therefore went ahead with the round.
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Jeffrey Miller said:
Suntech’s Shi recently said that a vacuum-sputtering based thin-film plant they’re building costs $45 million for 30MW, which is consistent with numbers from various other companies in the industry. Unless Miasole has a major innovation in store — such as a printing process a la Nanosolar — they’re not going to be anywhere close to Pearce’s capital numbers.
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Phil T said:
There’s a simple reason why Miasole cannot possibly raise more than $35 million: because their technology is the same as Daystar’s (roll-sputtering of CIGS on stainless steel foil), and Daystar is valued at $40 million right now on the Nasdaq. (One could argue that Daystar is actually ahead in product development…but just does not happen to have any hotshot VC investors.) I’m sure Miasole’s investors put a cap on dilution — 50% max — yet did not want the company to run out of money.
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[...] Santa Clara based Miasole raised $35M. Venture Beat reports that Miasole has raised: …at least $58 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Firelake Strategic Technology Fund, Garage Technology Ventures and Nippon Kouatsu Electric Co. [...]
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