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modules at an existing manufacturing plant and to establish a second manufacturing plant that will create more than 1,200 high-tech jobs in Colorado and Indiana, while driving down the cost of solar power for its United States and international customers.
Abound Solar has raised approximately $200 million in venture capital and private equity since 2007, built its first production line in Longmont, Colo. and begun commercial operations. Abound anticipates using $100 million of the loan proceeds to increase the capacity of its existing Longmont facility to 200 megawatts per year by the end of 2011. The company plans to invest the balance of the guaranteed loan to support the construction of a larger manufacturing facility in Tipton, Ind. When both plants are complete, Abound Solar will be able to produce more than 840 megawatts of solar modules annually.
“The DOE loan guarantee program is essential to helping companies like Abound Solar scale-up innovations in photovoltaic manufacturing that are critical to reducing the cost of alternative energy,” said Tom Tiller, Abound Solar President and CEO. “When Abound opened its first manufacturing plant in 2009, we committed to providing high-performing, lower-cost modules to our customers; DOE is helping us keep that promise. The proceeds of this loan will build on the momentum we have already established and confidently expand our operations.
“The company received broad support of its application from customers, suppliers, and political representatives,” said Steve Abely, Abound Solar CFO. “State and Local representatives from both Colorado and Indiana were particularly instrumental in our efforts to secure the loan guarantee to create more high-paying jobs in America, and ensure that our nation will continue to be a global driver of renewable, affordable and abundant solar energy.”
Spin-out in cutting-edge light source technology
Strathclyde has secured a spin-out deal to form a company working in the field of novel next- generation light source technology, which could open up a range of opportunities in multi-billion dollar applications including neuroscience, microscopy and communications.
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net August/September 2010
mLED Ltd specialises in micro light-emitting diodes (microLEDs), devices made up of thousands of tiny emitters producing light in a compact, integrated package. Unlike other micro-display technologies, microLEDs are dense arrays of miniature light sources which are pattern programmable and do not require a plethora of external components, such as optics and switching matrices, to modulate the light pattern, thereby making them more compact and efficient.
Braveheart Investment Group led the £150,000 funding round into mLED, investing via both the Strathclyde Innovation Fund (SIF) and the Alpha EIS Fund. Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Seed Fund also participated in the round.
Dr Jim Bonar, Chief Executive of mLED, said: “This is a very exciting international area of technology but there are only a few companies in the world which have recognised the opportunity and demonstrated capability in this area. We are producing a platform technology that is compact, robust, reliable and versatile.
“MicroLEDs have particularly strong potential for evolving life science markets such as neuroscience and for the emerging telecoms market of pico projectors, as well as for printing, microscopy and next-generation general lighting arrangements. The power density, versatility and compactness of microLEDs makes them ideally suited for these applications.
“Each of the microLEDs has enough light output to affect other materials, allowing actions such as the active illumination and stimulation of cells. They also have a switching speed fast enough for use in communications or in fluorescence lifetime imaging, which can be used to study cells. We have demonstrator kits available for sale so that developers can see if the micro-LEDs fit with
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