Swift Solar, a pioneer in perovskite tandem photovoltaics, has successfully closed its $27 million Series A financing round. This substantial funding follows a $7 million award from the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Advancing U.S. Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics funding program.
Founded in 2017 as a spinout from MIT, Stanford University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Swift Solar focuses on developing high-efficiency solar cells by combining metal halide perovskites with silicon or other perovskites. These tandem cells are designed to surpass the efficiency of traditional solar cells.
The Series A round was co-led by Eni Next and Fontinalis Partners, with additional participation from both new and existing investors, including Stanford University, Good Growth Capital, BlueScopeX, HL Ventures, Toba Capital, Sid Sijbrandij, James Fickel, Adam Winkel, Fred Ehrsam, Jonathan Lin, and Climate Capital. This brings Swift Solar’s total funding to $44 million, positioning the company to scale its technology and initiate the construction of its first manufacturing facility.
The $7 million DOE award is part of a larger $71 million investment, which includes $16 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aimed at bolstering the domestic solar supply chain. Swift Solar is one of four recipients focused on developing tandem photovoltaic (PV) devices that integrate established PV technologies like silicon and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) with perovskites.
“Solar is the future of energy—not just clean energy,” said Joel Jean, co-founder and CEO of Swift Solar. “Our advanced perovskite solar cells can outperform anything currently available on the market.”
Swift Solar’s innovative vapor deposition technology is expected to accelerate the manufacturing process of its tandem solutions. This non-batch process addresses two significant challenges in perovskite material production: the slow speed of deposition and the discontinuous nature of batch processing. Tobias Abzieher, a corresponding author from Swift Solar, explained to pv magazine that their approach allows for continuous deposition of a fully absorbing perovskite material in under five minutes. This method has achieved significant efficiency improvements over previously realized vapor-processed inorganic perovskite solar cells.
The production of perovskite solar cells requires less material and energy, potentially reducing manufacturing costs and carbon pollution by up to 30%. Swift Solar envisions that the perovskite supply chain could be entirely based in the United States and allied countries, fostering domestic manufacturing opportunities.
Swift Solar’s initial products are targeted for integration into high-performance solar-powered applications, such as car rooftops and space-based satellites. The company also plans to release a rooftop solar product in the future.
Recently, Swift Solar was named one of TIME’s Top GreenTech Companies in America. Additionally, in April, the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition announced Swift Solar as a new member.
The company’s groundbreaking technology and strategic funding position Swift Solar at the forefront of the renewable energy sector, driving innovation and sustainability in solar energy.
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