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State, Industry Funding Support University Solar Center

Solar concentration mirror (Replex Plastics)

Solar concentration mirror (Replex Plastics)

The State of Ohio and several companies are contributing funds for an R&D center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to boost the lifetime of solar energy technologies. The Solar-Durability and Lifetime Extension (S-DLE) Center at Case Western Reserve will have labs and test facilities to evaluate materials and components under extreme conditions.

The work of the center is expected to help companies accelerate and lower the cost of product development, provide longer-lasting products with improved product warranties, and lower the cost of ownership to consumers. S-DLE will develop standards and protocols for solar technology to withstand at least 25 years of exposure to the elements. It will also test optical, thermo-mechanical, and electrical properties of materials, components, and products in solar systems.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission, a state agency supporting commercialization of university research in Ohio, is chipping in $2.88 million to S-DLE. The grant is part of the agency’s Wrights Projects that underwrite capital equipment needed to bring technology to market.

S-DLE plans to use the state funding to install 12 solar trackers, which are motorized solar capture devices fitted with a GPS to follow the sun’s movement. The state grant will also pay for indoor solar simulators and other environmental test beds.

Some $3 million in commitments have also been made to the center by the university and several industrial partners: DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, Underwriters Laboratories, and the Ohio-based enterprises Q-Lab, eQED, and Xunlight26.

Case Western Reserve has an ongoing solar energy project with Replex Plastics, in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, — also funded by Ohio Third Frontier — developing mirrors to boost light intensity on, and power output from, photovoltaic modules and systems.

Read more: Energy Dept. Funding Solar Manufacturing Development

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