Astropower Solar Grade Silicon

In an effort to solve the ongoing problem of sourcing raw material for production of photovoltaic (PV) cells,

AstroPower, Inc. has teamed up with the Norwegian company Elkem to develop a cost-effective process for producing

solar-grade silicon directly from quartz. Traditionally, the PV industry has obtained waste silicon from the semiconductor industry, which requires higher-purity silicon than needed for PV cells. As PV production has grown, this waste-stream silicon has become a limiting factor. “Removing these raw material constraints will enable AstroPower—and eventually the solar power industry as a whole—to better meet the demand for solar power technology,” said Dr. Allen Barnett, president and CEO of AstroPower. The initial focus of this joint venture is production of solar-grade silicon for AstroPower’s proprietary Silicon-Film™ process. Industrial-scale production should be achieved by late 2003 or early 2004. For further details, visit

www.astropower.com.