The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $14 million to innovative projects across the country that are advancing solar manufacturing and grid technologies — and a Louisville-based startup got a $1 million piece of that pie.
Bert Thin Films, co-founded by chief technology officer Dr. Ruvini Dharmadasa and CEO Dr. Thad Druffel in 2014, will use the DOE funding to continue its work to develop a low-cost, copper-based paste that will replace an expensive silver component prevalent in solar cell manufacturing.
In an interview Thursday, Druffel said it was gratifying to be recognized by the Department of Energy (DOE) for the innovative product.
"This is a pretty big honor to be selected for an award by the Solar Energy Technologies Office, especially for the for the two of us who've been working on this for quite some time," he said. "We've been developing this copper paste for several years now and we've demonstrated that it does work on a solar cell, so we're hoping the money from the DOE helps us get through the final hurdles."
Bert Thin Films employs several full-time engineers and scientists at its Old Louisville offices. The company raised $1 million in early 2019, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
In addition to Bert Thin Films' copper paste, eight other solar hardware and manufacturing projects will receive DOE funding to accelerate the commercialization of technologies that can lower the cost of solar technologies and help to integrate solar electricity into the nation’s energy grid. Among the projects include a new solar heat system to dry out sewage and convert it to fertilizer, which would help decarbonize the agricultural, wastewater, and industrial sectors and a project to develop a low-cost device to help prevent solar system electrical fires.
In total, the DOE awarded $45 million to solar and grid technologies efforts, which included the creation of a $25 million public-private consortium of national labs, universities and minority-serving institutions, equipment manufacturers, utilities and bulk power system operators to advance research on grid-forming inverters, according to a news release.
“Investing in clean energy technologies like solar not only helps us combat climate change, it strengthens our energy and manufacturing sectors, creating good jobs while building the economy of the future," said Rep. John Yarmuth, in the release. "I’m so thrilled that Louisville’s own Bert Thin Films is leading the way in this industry, working to reduce costs and expand access to an inexhaustible clean energy source. I congratulate Thad and Ruvini on earning this highly sought-after Department of Energy funding to continue their great work here in Louisville.”
