DEEE0011424
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
1. Achieve 27%-efficient > 500 cm2 aperture area tandem minimodules after 6 months of outdoor testing in 3 climate zones made by high-throughput-compatible (at least 1 M6 wafer per minute) perovskite vapor deposition.
2. Achieve at most 10% relative PCE loss on accelerated tests that utilize conditions specified in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61215 MQT10, 11, 13, and 21 tests on damp heat, thermal cycling, ultraviolet (UV) exposure, and potential induced degradation (PID) for at least 15 minimodules.
3. Develop scalable and high-throughput-compatible passivation that can achieve >29% tandem solar cells on >160 cm2 aperture areas.
4. Develop a finite element model for the mechanical properties of complete minimodules including cell stack, interconnects, and encapsulation that can identify stress concentrations and predict failure points.
5. Send modules for outdoor testing at PACT that have < 3% relative loss over 6 months.
2. Achieve at most 10% relative PCE loss on accelerated tests that utilize conditions specified in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61215 MQT10, 11, 13, and 21 tests on damp heat, thermal cycling, ultraviolet (UV) exposure, and potential induced degradation (PID) for at least 15 minimodules.
3. Develop scalable and high-throughput-compatible passivation that can achieve >29% tandem solar cells on >160 cm2 aperture areas.
4. Develop a finite element model for the mechanical properties of complete minimodules including cell stack, interconnects, and encapsulation that can identify stress concentrations and predict failure points.
5. Send modules for outdoor testing at PACT that have < 3% relative loss over 6 months.
Awardee
Funding Goals
THE ADVANCING U.S. THIN-FILM SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS FOA WILL FOCUS ON ACCELERATING THE CAPABILITIES OF TWO THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) TECHNOLOGIES: METAL-HALIDE PEROVSKITE PV AND CADMIUM TELLURIDE (CDTE) PV TECHNOLOGIES. IT WILL FUND INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) PROJECTS THAT WILL ENABLE FUTURE COMMERCIALIZATION OF HYBRID TANDEM PEROVSKITE PV, DEFINED AS A PEROVSKITE PV IN COMBINATION WITH ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS SILICON OR CDTE. IT WILL ALSO FUND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION (RD&D) PROJECTS ACROSS THE MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, INSTALLATION, AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING SECTORS TO IMPROVE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE DOMESTIC CDTE PV INDUSTRY. THIS FOA PROMOTES AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN THIN-FILM PV TECHNOLOGY BY PROMOTING THE DOMESTIC MANUFACTURE OF THIN-FILM PV MODULES.
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding Agency
Place of Performance
San Carlos,
California
94070-5321
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
Swift Solar was awarded
High-Efficiency Tandem Solar Modules: Scalable Development Outdoor Testing
Cooperative Agreement DEEE0011424
worth $6,400,000
from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in January 2025 with work to be completed primarily in San Carlos California United States.
The grant
has a duration of 1 year and
was awarded through assistance program 81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development.
$1,750,000 (21.0%) of this Cooperative Agreement was funded by non-federal sources.
The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity Advancing U.S. Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics.
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 8/12/25
Period of Performance
1/1/25
Start Date
12/31/25
End Date
Funding Split
$6.4M
Federal Obligation
$1.8M
Non-Federal Obligation
$8.2M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to DEEE0011424
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
DEEE0011424
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Small Business
Awarding Office
892434 GOLDEN FIELD OFFICE
Funding Office
892403 ENERGY EFFICIENCYRENEWABLE ENERGY
Awardee UEI
KURTDBQWXNN6
Awardee CAGE
84QR5
Performance District
CA-15
Senators
Dianne Feinstein
Alejandro Padilla
Alejandro Padilla
Modified: 8/12/25