crystalsol

Entirely new type of printed
photovoltaic thin-film modules

Flexible, lightweight, transparent, low-cost

About the technology

crystalsol develops an entirely new type of flexible photovoltaic technology. The patented technology combines the advantages of high efficiency single-crystalline materials and low cost roll-to-roll production.

The technology is based on decades of research at Philips semiconductor in the 1960s. The core innovation is the light absorbing layer made of a patented new crystalline semiconductor powder.

The light absorbing active layer of the film is made of crystalline semiconductor particles with a typical diameter of 40 μm arranged as a single layer fixed by a polymer film.

The semiconductor particles contain the abundant and low-cost elements copper, zinc, tin, sulphur, and selenium (CZTS). Every semiconductor particle is coated with an extremely thin buffer layer to create the p/n junction. Before the crystalline powder enters the module production it is already a finished working solar cell. The module production process is based on roll-to-roll technology ensuring high throughput and yield similar to the printing industry.

Consequently the required investment in crystalsol’s manufacturing equipment is significantly below current capital requirements for photovoltaic plants. Main reason is the elimination of vacuum technology for the active layer and the low process temperatures.

Due to the characteristics of crystalsol’s technology upscaling issues – common for thin film technologies – are minimized. As every semiconductor particle is a tiny photovoltaic cell it does not make a difference how large the finished film is. This is an advantage compared to all thin film technologies where all upscaling to larger areas requires costly and time consuming development.

Advantages

Compared to established photovoltaic technologies.

  • New type of unsealed photovoltaic film for end product integration
  • Flexible and lightweight polymer encapsulation
  • Versatile applications in building integration and consumer products based on custom made sizes and shapes
  • Abundant, non-toxic raw materials copper, zinc, tin, sulphur and selenium as active layer
  • Low cost because of continuous, high throughput roll-to-roll production process from raw materials to finished products
  • Long-term stability due to single crystalline semiconductor structure

Building integrated photovoltaics

The initial focus of crystalsol’s products will be on building integration. The films can either be opaque or transparent for integration into windows, facades and rooftops. They can be laminated with polymer foil for integration in structured facades or encapsulated in glass for higher stability. Due to the simple production process, the films can be tailor made in shape and size.

Consumer products

Besides integration into the building envelope, crystalsol’s products can be integrated into consumer products like mobile chargers, bags, clothing and the like. Due to their flexibility, they can be tailor made to the needs of the consumer product and consequentially, consumer products do not need to adapt to the PV modules available on the market anymore.

Company

crystalsol develops an entirely new type of flexible photovoltaic film with a significant cost and versatility advantage compared to all currently known photovoltaic technologies. The technology is based on decades of research for the Russian military and Philips semiconductor know-how from the 1960s. The core innovations are the crystalline semiconductor powder made from a patented new material and the low-cost roll-to-roll production process.

crystalsol’s technology leads to cost reduction of 30-50% compared to current industry average. This means production cost below 0.3 EUR per Watt peak achievable in the medium term. At this cost level the generated electricity is cost competitive with conventional energy sources.

Management

Rumman Syed
is the Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for operations and finance. He holds a masters degree in Information Systems engineering from the University of Durham, UK but has spent over ten years in the high-tech industry holding various executive positions.

Prof. Dr. Dieter Meissner
is the Chief Scientist and guides the R&D process and university co-operations, most importantly with the Tallinn University of Technology. He started to work with monograin membranes in 1979 with the Philips Research Group which Prof. Meissner took over in the early 90s.

ARAX Capital Partners

ARAX Capital Partners
ARAX Capital Partners bring together investors and innovative and growing start-up companies within the sector of technology. ARAX offers a broad range of services from strategy advisory for entrepreneurs to a variety of investment programs.
ARAX Capital Partners

Archimedes Foundation

Archimedes Foundation
Archimedes Foundation is an independent body established by the Estonian government with the objective to coordinate and implement different international and national programmes and projects in the field of training, education and research.

crystalsol and the Institute of Physics of the University of Tartu have started a cooperation project called IRESOL. IRESOL project is focusing on the research and advancement of cost-efficient solar cells developed by crystalsol. As the most efficient way to improve the usage of the resources for the Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 solar cell production is by reducing energy conversion losses of the solar cell, several nano-scale level characterization methods available in Institute of Physics of the University of Tartu will be used to identify and tackle the mentioned technological challenge. Cooperation duration is 3 years, starting from March 2017. The project cost in the total amount of EUR 601 738 was approved by Archimedes Foundation for funding via activity “Support for applied research in smart specialisation growth areas” in May 2017. The project is funded by European Union via European Regional Development Fund.
Archimedes Foundation

austrian wirtschaftsservice (aws)

austrian wirtschaftsservice (aws)
Austrian wirtschaftsservice is Austria’s national promotional bank. aws offers a broad range of company-specific investment programs and services including financial assistance and consultancy for companies ranging from the pre-seed to the international expansion stage.
austrian wirtschaftsservice (aws)

Enterprise Estonia (EAS) – European Regional Development Fund

Enterprise Estonia (EAS) promotes business and regional development in Estonia.
Enterprise Estonia is a national support system for entrepreneurship, providing financial assistance, advisory, cooperation opportunities and training for entrepreneurs, research establishments and the public sector.
crystalsol has been granted two Applied Research grants financed by the European Regional Development Fund and one national grant for the development of manufacturing companies. The first project “Development of a cost-efficient solar panel” (#EU29713) lasted from December 2008 to September 2011. The second project “Increasing the efficiency of CZTS semiconductor material” (#EU42222) started in January 2012 to September 2013. The overall goal was to improve the properties of the semiconductor material which is key to converting sunlight into electricity. The 3rd project “Increasing productivity of CZTS semiconductor manufacturing“ (#EU46532) was approved in November 2013 for the project duration between October 2013 and March 2015. From 1st of April to 30th of September 2015, the 4th EAS Project ("Increasing company revenue by more efficient raw material utilization“ (#EU48851)) was the focus of R&D efforts of crytalsol in Estonia.
Enterprise Estonia (EAS)
European Regional Development Fund

European Space Agency (ESA)

European Space Agency (ESA)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. ESA has approved a feasibility study related to crystalsol’s flexible photovoltaic technology. crystalsol will investigate the feasibility of a PV module production on the Moon, based on crystalsol semiconductor powder and roll-to-roll module production. The activity is carried out under a programme of, and funded by, the European Space Agency. Project started in December 2018 and lasts for 9 months.
Europeas Space Agency (ESA)

European Union

European Union
crystalsol has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 887915.

Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) is the national funding institution for applied industrial research in Austria. FFG offers a comprehensive range of services for Austrian enterprises, research institutions and researchers.
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

INiTS

INiTS
The Academic Business Incubator INiTS offers support, advice and funding for academics aiming to found their own company.
INiTS

Klima- und Energiefonds

Klima- und Energiefonds
Klima- und Energiefonds act as innovator and impulse generator for climate relevant and sustainable energy technologies. Main goal is supporting ideas, concepts and projects in the areas research and development, mobility, market penetration and creation of awareness.
Klima- und Energiefonds

waff

waff
waff assists Viennese employees with anything related to career and training. In the course of its initiative "Innovation Assistance" it supports small and medium enterprises with innovative projects and sponsors personnel costs of the innovation assistants, further training and consulting costs.
waff

ZIT –Technology Promotion Agency Vienna<

ZIT –Technology Promotion Agency Vienna
ZIT is the technology promotion agency of the City of Vienna, responsible for creating an attractive environment for technology-oriented companies based in Vienna. ZIT offers a broad range of technology promotions and funding schemes to support the development and growth of companies in different stages and industries.
ZIT –Technology Promotion Agency Vienna

The technology is based on decades of research for the Russian military and Philips semiconductor know how. In the 1960s Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven patented early versions of the technology and used the semiconductor powder approach for the production of light sensitive switches. From this time on Prof. Dieter Meissner was driving the research on the photovoltaic application of crystalsol's technology. Behind the Iron Curtain the Estonian research group of Prof. Mellikov was independently working on the semiconductor powder approach for about 20 years in projects for the Russian military. Joint research of Prof. Enn Mellikov’s and Prof. Dieter Meissner’s groups during the 1990s focused on semiconductor powder made of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). The rising costs of indium led to the search for alternatives. A breakthrough at the Technical University of Tallinn (TUT) allowed the replacement of indium through zinc and tin. Since then crystalsol and its team of scientists are advancing this innovative technology.

crystalsol operates at two locations. Research and development of the semiconductor powder takes place in Tallinn, Estonia. Development of the device and the production process is based in Vienna, Austria.

News

  • Foamglass photovoltaics for building insulation and floating PV May 2024

    crystalsol sees the combination of monograin PV and foam glass as a particularly promising opportunity to significantly expand the areas of application of both technologies. This innovation is now protected by a comprehensive patent that has just been filed, providing worldwide protection from now on.

  • crystalsol GmbH receives funding by the FFG for the GREEN project April 2024

    The projects duration is 3 years and aims to integrate laser ablation in the production process. The goals are:
    • Reduction of energy demand
    • Increase of production speed
    • Increase of reproducibility
    A project website is in preparation.

  • First BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic) and PIPV (Product Integrated Photovoltaic) demonstrators with integrated modules from crystalsol were presented at the CustomArt project meeting in Innsbruck April 2024

    The following demonstrators were fabricated and presented in Innsbruck:
    • 2 active urban furniture: PIPV demonstrators are equipped with smart lightning and charging devices.
    • 2 architectural building elements: BIPV demonstrators feature automatic shading and PV integration directly on a roof tile

  • First successful VIPV (Vehicle Integrated Photovoltaic) achieved in the AlphaCar project August 2023

    First integration of crystalsol’s thinfilm PV into a curved car hood consisting of light weight composite materials showed a minor loss in efficiency.

  • crystalsol publishes its production process and record efficiency January 2023

    Highlights:
    • Monograin PV provides the only printing technology of mono crystalline solar cells.
    • Monograin powders are of unique quality, efficiency, and stability.
    • Production costs are below those of all competing technologies even in small scale.
    • Cradle-to-Cradle design enables circular economy.
    Dieter Meissner, Kaia Ernits, Stefan Gahr, Lidia Kapitan, Martin Vetter, Christoph Glatz, Rumman Syed, Kesterite based Monograin Photovoltaics: the ideal solution for sustainable power supply, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 252 (2023), 112160, doi: 10.1016/j.solmat.2022.112160.

  • Monograin production technology will be uniquely sustainable, it beats thin film technology in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) December 2022

    Highlights:
    • LCA of manufacturing Kesterite monograin module was conducted for the first time.
    • Material use outweighed the environmental burden of the processing energy.
    • Monograin CZTS has comparable environmental impact with thin-film CZTS and CIGS.
    Amani Maalouf, Tobechi Okoroafor, Stefan Gahr, Kaia Ernits, Dieter Meissner, Shahaboddin Resalati, Environmental Performance of CZTS Monograin Module Production in Comparison to Thin-film Technology, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 251 (2023), 112161, doi: 10.1016/j.solmat.2022.112161.

  • Helmholtz center Berlin confirms: monograin production technology leads to highest crystal quality September 2022

    Highlights:
    • a significant impact on the order parameter Q in CZTSSe monograins from the “ordering” and “disordering” procedures.
    • the possibility to develop a fast and easy methodology to estimate the level of Cu/Zn disorder from Raman measurements.
    • clear independence of the main structural, compositional and optoelectronic properties from the mechanical treatment.
    Galina Gurieva, Victoria Rotaru, Kaia Ernits, Nikita Siminel, Alicia Manjón-Sanz, Melanie Kirkham, Alejandro Perez-Rodrigues, Maxim Guc, Dieter Meissner, Susan Schorr, … to grind or not to grind? The influence of mechanical and thermal treatments on the Cu/Zn disorder in Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1-x)4 monograins, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 248 (2022), 112009, doi: 10.1016/j.solmat.2022.112009.

  • crystalsol GmbH granted with FFG funds for the ALPHA-Car Project December 2021

    In ALPHA-Car, a demonstrator (Chassis-Part in Carbon with CZTS PV-Modul) should be developed with up to max. TRL4/5 level focusing on production technology, efficiency demonstration and durability. In addition, integration with BEV energy management and thermal stresses and thermal integration measures will be presented mainly in simulation. Annual energy analyses should provide informative energy balances for Central European locations in the simulation. Finally, an economic analysis is undertaken to consider the costs incurred in a payback calculation

  • Monograin membranes are uniquely suitable as biomimetic membranes for solar water splitting October 2021

    Highlights:
    • Suitability of Kesterites for photoelectrochemical application.
    • The anion substitution effects for photovoltaic and water splitting applications.
    • Identification of band positions of Kesterite interfaces to aqueous solutions.

    Ali Samieipour, Elham Kouhiisfahani, Souhaib Oueslati, Dieter Meissner, Tobias Morawietz, Michael Handl, Matthias Simolka, Renate Hiesgen, Monograin Membranes for Biomimetic Solar Water Splitting: Stepwise Opening of Ionically Conductive Channels, 9th International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference (IRSEC) 2021, 1-6, doi: 10.1109/IRSEC53969.2021.9741169.

    Souhaib Oueslati, Maris Pilvet, Maarja Grossberg, Marit Kauk-Kuusik, Jüri Krustok, Dieter Meissner, Kesterite monograins for solar cells and water splitting applications, Thin Solid Films 739 (2021), 138981, doi: 10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138981.

  • ARAX Capital Partners completes acquisition of crystalsol GmbH June 2021

    Investors of ARAX Capital Partners have completed the acquisition of crystalsol GmbH and related assets. In connection with the completion of the transaction, BVT Treuhand und Beteiligungsgesellschaft, the trustree within the ARAX Group, has become owner of all shares in crystalsol GmbH and related assets.

  • crystalsol OÜ granted with EU Funds under the H2020-LC-SC3-2020-RES-IA-CSA Call September 2020

    CUSTOM-ART aims at developing the next generation of building and product integrated photovoltaic modules (BIPV and PIVP respectively), based on earth-abundant and fully sustainable thin film technologies. Nowadays, BIPV and PIPV are identified as key enabling technologies to make “near Zero Energy Buildings” and “net Zero Energy Districts” more realistic, through the integration of a new generation of photovoltaic modules capable of entirely replacing architectural/mobility/urbanfurniture passive elements. This promising scenario of mass realisation of BIPV and PIPV solutions can only be achieved by developing cost-efficient and sustainable thin film technologies with unbeatable aesthetic functionalities, including mechanical flexibility and optical tuneability. Unfortunately, mature materials already available at the market such as Cu(In,Ga)Se2 or CdTe are formed by scarce and expensive elements (In, Ga and Te), or toxic ones (Cd ). Considering this, CUSTOM-ART will join for the first time a leading group of companies and academic partners all around Europe, to develop advanced BIPV and PIPV products (flexible and semi-transparent solar modules), based on earth abundant kesterite materials, which have been demonstrated in two previous European projects to be at the forefront of emerging inorganic thin film technologies. By combining advanced strategies for materials properties management, with customized modules design in a circular economy approach, two types of products will be developed including flexible PV modules (polymer and steel supports) and semi-transparent (polymer). CUSTOM-ART will bring these technologies from TRL4-5 up to TRL7, demonstrating very competitive conversion efficiencies (20% at cell and 16% at module level) and durability (over 35 years), at a reduced production cost (< 75 €/m2), using exclusively abundant elements and contributing to ensure the full sustainability and competitiveness of the European BIPV and PIPV Industry.

  • crystalsol OÜ granted with SME Instrument Phase 1 project October 2019

    On 1st of November, crystalsol OÜ will kick off the feasibility study that is supported by Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme called SME Instrument Phase 1. The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) confirmed the grant in early October to be kicked off in November. The project duration is 6 months and will result in a feasibility study of crystalsol’s technology and business model. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 887915.

  • First large semi-transparent crystalsol module in PV-power plant installed and online July 2019

    crystalsol’s first large semi-transparent module has recently been installed in a PV-power plant in Simmering, Vienna. The crystalsol module was exclusively manufactured for an innovative project called “GLOCULL agrophotovoltaik”, where crystalsol and the company NikkoPV realized a PV-power plant on top of a LGV greenhouse in Simmering. The unique semi-transparent and lightweight design offers the perfect solution for combining the benefits of local urban agriculture and sustainable energy generation, conquering areas not even accessible by standard PV modules. The energy provided by the modules is used directly on-site, helping to reduce the carbon footprint and contributing to a sustainable energy future.

  • crystalsol continues cooperation with the European Space Agency December 2018

    crystalsol has confirmed its second project funded by The European Space Agency (ESA), under the Estonian Initiative Scheme! ESA has initiated a feasibility study to test the applicability of crystalsol’s flexible photovoltaic technologies to Lunar surface missions, based on crystalsol semiconductor powder and roll-to-roll module production. The activity is carried out under the New Member States Programme of the European Space Agencies. Project duration is 9 months.

  • Major improvement in PV: crystalsol has developed semi-transparent and flexible PV modules! August 2018

    A major improvement has been achieved at crystalsol by allowing the production of semi-transparent module with 20% optical transmission uniformly distributed for visible-spectrum, avoiding undesired coloured PV elements as it happens with most other semi-transparent technologies. Another important benefit is that the semi-transparency has no impact on the module efficiency or on the flexibility, making it the first semi-transparent flexible module fully produced with printing processes with efficiency above 5%.

  • crystalsol co-founder academician Enn Mellikov passed away July 23rd 2018
  • Development of products for BIPV solutions in collaboration with customers February 2018

    crystalsol is currently working on several innovative PV module designs for BIPV projects, where the design, flexibility and the lightweight properties of crystalsol’s PV foil provide unique solutions. Shading structures for buildings and semitransparent façade elements are just a few examples of the variety of products that have been designed according to customers’ specifications. The next phase of these collaborations will consist of evaluating the performance and the lifetime of crystalsol’s BIPV products in outdoor conditions.

  • crystalsol is a participant in the MarketPlace project funded by H2020 January 2018

    The MarketPlace consortium will utilise state of the art information technologies to build an open web-based integrated Materials Modelling and Collaboration platform that acts as one-stop-shop and open Marketplace for providing all determining components that need to be interwoven for successful and accelerated deployment of materials modelling in industry. The proposed MarketPlace will be a central-hub for all materials modelling related activities in Europe and provide tangible tools to connect disparate modelling, translators, and manufacturing communities to provide a vibrant collaboration web-based tool for the advancement of materials modelling in European manufacturing industry. The Marketplace platform will include access to concerted set of federated databases of materials models, materials data and provide for access to experimental characterisation and stimulate the development of interface wrappers and open simulation platforms. The MarketPlace consortium aims to strengthen the competitiveness and lower the innovation barrier for European industry for product development and process design and optimization using materials modelling. Total cost of the project is EUR 9 189 779 EUR from which EU contribution is EUR 8 147 526. The project is coordinated by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

  • crystalsol collaborates with an Austrian energy company on the development of innovative integrated PV products October 2017

    crystalsol has recently provided flexible PV modules to one of the biggest Austrian energy companies for integration into textile products and urban furniture. The collaboration aims to develop and test innovative products with integrated PV modules. The first phase of the collaboration proved successfully the possibility to integrate crystalsol’s modules into flexible textile via standard sewing techniques without affecting the performance and lifetime of the PV foil. The next phases will focus on testing the prototypes in a relevant environment, which eventually lead to the commercialization of the products.

  • crystalsol OÜ featured in TV3 news as an exemplar for contributing into good work and safety environment May 2017
  • Research cooperation in between crystalsol OÜ and University of Tartu (Estonia) is confirmed for funding May 2017

    crystalsol and the Institute of Physics of the University of Tartu have started a cooperation project called IRESOL. IRESOL project is focusing on the research and advancement of cost-efficient solar cells developed by crystalsol. As the most efficient way to improve the usage of the resources for the Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 solar cell production is by reducing energy conversion losses of the solar cell, several nano-scale level characterization methods available in Institute of Physics of the University of Tartu will be used to identify and tackle the mentioned technological challenge. Cooperation duration is 3 years, starting from March 2017. The project cost in the total amount of EUR 601 738 was approved by Archimedes Foundation for funding via activity “Support for applied research in smart specialisation growth areas” in May 2017.

    The project is funded by European Union via European Reagional Development Fund.

  • crystalsol featured in Der österreichische Installateur May 2017
  • crystalsol featured in Energy Innovation Austria issue 02/2017 May 2017

    Some of our funding projects and innovations are featured in the new issue of Energy Innovation Austria on the subject Schlüsseltechnologie Photovoltaik, Innovationen aus Österreich für die Stromversorgung der Zukunft (Photovoltaics – a key technology, Innovations from Austria for tomorrow’s power supply).

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln des Klima- und Energiefonds gefördert und im Rahmen des Programms Energieforschung (e!MISSION) (Ausschreibung: 3. Ausschreibung Energieforschung 2016) durchgeführt.

  • crystalsol granted new funding for research project QualiFlexPV April 2017

    crystalsol GmbH has been granted funding of a new project QualiFlexPV by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG. The goal of this project is the development of inline quality-control-/measurement systems for the individual process steps, corresponding with the needs of the technology. These will be built and demonstrated in lab scale on the in-house roll-to-roll pilot plant. New measurement techniques and systems (e.g. camera-based image processing systems) will enable inline non-destructive testing and measuring/evaluation. Project duration: 01.04.2017-31.03.2019.

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln des Klima- und Energiefonds gefördert und im Rahmen des Programms Energieforschung (e!MISSION) (Ausschreibung: 3. Ausschreibung Energieforschung 2016) durchgeführt.

  • crystalsol granted new funding for research project Nano_Outside March 2017

    crystalsol GmbH has been granted funding of a new project Nano_Outside by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG. The goal of this project is the development of weather-proof UV-NIL resins, as well as roll-to-roll nanoimprint processes for the manufacturing of nanostructured foil surfaces for outdoor applications. Project duration: 01.04.2017-30.09.2019.

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln der Österreichischen Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft gefördert und im Rahmen des Programms Produktion der Zukunft (Ausschreibung: 19. A S Produktion der Zukunft 2016 national) durchgeführt.

  • crystalsol is participating in the PEARL TF-PV research project January 2017

    crystalsol GmbH has signed a new funding contract with the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG. The main aim of the funded project, PEARL TF-PV, is to reduce the cost of electricity produced by thin-film PV plants, by improving the reliability and the prediction of overall lifetime of thin-film photovoltaics. Project duration: 01.05.2017-30.04.2020.

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln des Klima- und Energiefonds gefördert und im Rahmen des Programms Energieforschung (e!MISSION) (Ausschreibung: SOLAR-ERA.NET 4. AS) durchgeführt.

  • crystalsol finished a funding project for developing a new flexible encapsulation December 2016

    crystalsol GmbH has finished a funding project of the base program, funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG. The main goal of this project was the development and testing of encapsulation processes of our flexible PV-foils, that would ensure their life-span of 3-20 years during active usage, depending on varying conditions. Project duration: 01.07.2015-31.12.2016.

    Dieses Projekt wurde aus Mitteln der Österreichischen Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft und im Rahmen des Basisprogramms gefördert.

  • First samples of new Façade-Integrated PV-modules developed and tested – PV@Fassade project November 2016

    In 2014, crystalsol signed a funding contract with The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). First samples of new façade-integrated PV have now been tested for more than a year. The central target of the research project PV@Fassade is to cope with the specific challenges related to façade-integrated photovoltaics, and to create a knowledge and technology base for a competitive façade-integration of photovoltaics within an inter-disciplinary research project. Specifically, a close co-operation of several Austrian R&D institutions and companies from façade-building and PV is striving for solutions to implement a reliable, cost-efficient and aesthetically attractive façade-integrated PV. Another focus of the project is to disseminate and exploit research results to ensure that Austria’s economy will play a central role in façade-integrated PV in the medium term. The acceptance of the BIPV concepts will be inquired and evaluated in interaction with architects, planners and students in expert workshops and user inquiries which will be iteratively integrated into the optimization process. Project duration: 01.04.2014-31.03.2017.

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln des Klima- und Energiefonds gefördert und im Rahmen Programmes Energy Mission Austria (Ausschreibung: e!mission 2013 4. Ausschreibung) durchgeführt.

  • crystalsol is taking part in smart(D)ER project September 2016

    crystalsol is participating in a large-scale project, sponsored by the Klima und Energie Fond, consisting of around 60 workshop days. The aim of this initiative is spreading and consolidating the knowledge of renewable energies, especially in the field of building-integrated PV, as well as enhancing the co-operation in research. Project duration: 01.09.2016-31.08.2020.

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln des Klima- und Energiefonds gefördert und im Rahmen des Programmes Forschnungskompetenzen f. die Wirtschaft (Ausschreibung: Inno-LV 2015 Ausschreibung) durchgeführt.

  • TPPV and crystalsol jointly organized a PV workshop in Vienna, Austria June 2016

    The workshop was dedicated to “Printable window and contact layer” and it included presentations from respectable specialists from the PV field.

  • crystalsol is participating in the flex!PV 2.0 research project April 2016

    The main focus of both the R&D and the industry is a further development of existing processes and materials from the laboratory towards an industrial mass production. In addition, research has to be constantly adapted to the new materials and technologies, which provide impetus and create new market opportunities in the PV sector. flex!PV 2.0 strives to strengthen the permanence of Austria as a technology location by bundling up the know-how in the fields of material development, coating technologies, device structure and module design. Focusing on high-throughput, solution-based routes will be scaled up from cell level production to sheet-to-sheet or roll-to-roll module processing. The scaling-up strategies will address the issues of efficiency decrease in modules, caused by factors such as layer thickness inhomogeneity and module interconnection losses. For these issues the consortium will build upon concepts and know-how acquired in the framework of the previous flex!pv.at project. The project will also focus on the materials, cell and module stability, which is a critical issue especially for the hybrid perovskite absorbers, still preventing their commercialization. A wide range of characterization techniques and various testing conditions of light, humidity and temperature will be employed, in an attempt to unveil the intrinsic limitations and potential of these promising absorber technologies. Project duration: 01.04.2016-31.03.2019.

    Dieses Projekt wird aus Mitteln des Klima- und Energiefonds gefördert und im Rahmen des Programmes Energieforschung (e!mission) (Ausschreibung Energieforschung 2. Ausschreibung) durchgeführt.

  • European Space Agency granted the tender for the project “Adapting crystalsol product to a moon environment” February 2016

    The objective of the study is to evaluate the possibility to use some down selected polymers as membrane material using the lamination process developed by crystalsol. The long term stability under some of the conditions encountered at the Moon South pole will be assessed. The study aims solely at making a first assessment of the applicability of the technology for the intended application and does not intent mimicking the exact conditions encountered on the moon. Hence the extent of conditions and test duration will be limited to vacuum, thermal amplitude and shall also include part of the radiation spectrum encountered. Project duration: February-May 2016.

  • crystalsol OÜ announced as one of the Good Work Environment 2015 award winners October 2015

    The Labour Inspectorate of Estonia awarded two companies with the title of Good Work Environment 2015 and crystalsol oü is one of the winners. The title is given to companies who make a safe working environment and staff health a priority. It recognizes the work that has been done to encourage companies and other businesses to assess, observe and promote health and safety at work.

  • crystalsol Announces Development of Fully Printed Flexible Photovoltaic Film Using Silver Nanowires from Cambrios July 2015
  • crystalsol presented the new Voc world record on kesterite material June 2015

    The recently certified world record of open circuit voltage on kesterite material, Voc = 781 mV produced by crystalsol, was presented at the 42nd IEEE PVSC conference in New Orleans, USA during the talk „Improvement of Voc in Cu2ZnSnS4 Monograin Layer Solar Cells with Tin Oxide Inter-Layer“. Another high Voc value, 758 mV was presented later at the same conference by Solar Frontier, leaving crystalsol with the Voc record on kesterites.

  • ESA Industrial Policy Department visited crystalsol May 2015

    A delegation led by Mr Eros Pittarelli from the European Space Agency Industrial Policy Department together with representatives of Airbus D&S and Thales visited more than 20 institutions from the Estonian space industry and academia during their one week stay in Estonia. All target organization gave a tour of their premises and a thorough overview of their ongoing and near future space related products and cooperation projects.

  • crystalsol granted new funding project by EAS in Estonia April 2015

    Project „Increasing company revenue by more efficient raw material utilization“ (#EU48851) will last 6 months from April to September 2015

  • Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior visits crystalsol April 2015

    On April 9th, the Austrian Federal Minister of Interior, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, visited crystalsol. The Minister and Ministerial Council Andreas Achatz did a tour of the modern crystalsol lab, where the company is currently working on upscaling the module production. The guests were impressed by the innovative and high-tech work environment, which of interest to state politics.

  • 3,2 Mio EURO Grant for flexible Photovoltaic from bmvit and Klima- und Energiefonds December 2014
  • Tore Schiotz and Prof. H. W. Schock join crsytalsol Advisory Board April 2014
  • EAS approves grant for crystalsol OÜ for the manufacturing of CZTS power November 2013
  • Rumman Syed joins the management team as the new CEO August 2013
  • crystalsol sets European cell efficiency record for CZTS based photovoltaic cells May 2013

    The new top score cell efficiency of 8.4% has been independently certified by Fraunhofer-Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

  • crystalsol closed a Series A round financing of EUR 8 million January 2013

    crystalsol has closed a Series A round financing of EUR 8 million led by Conor Venture Partners. While maintaining existing investors, crystalsol received capital from Arax Capital Partners, an Austrian investor with focus on innovative and growth-oriented Austrian high-tech companies.

  • crystalsol reaches 6.74% top score cell efficiency May 2012

    Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) independently certifies a 6.74% top score cell efficiency of crystalsol’s CZTS based photovoltaic cells in May 2012. This represents an improvement of 10% compared to the previous record of 6.04%.

  • crystalsol awarded grants from FFG and Klima- und Energiefonds January 2012

    The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) supported crystalsol with a grant of EUR 170,000 for the development of revolutionary, cost efficient bitumen rooftop membrane with integrated photovoltaic modules. Soprema, a French company is partnering with crystalsol in this project. Klima- und Energiefonds awarded crystalsol in the course of the 5th tender of the program „New Energies 2020“ with a grant of EUR 440,000 for the development of cost effective printed contacts for photovoltaic modules in the roll-to-roll production process. crystalsol’s project partner is Forster Verkehrs- und Werbetechnik GmbH, a company with extensive know-how in printing processes.

  • crystalsol awarded winner of "Wiener Zukunftspreis 2011" October 2011

    News, an Austrian weekly magazine, and the City of Vienna selected innovative Companies of the Future (Wiener Zukunftspreis). Within three categories over 100 projects were reviewed. crystalsol was selected as winner of the category “Innovative Companies”.

  • crystalsol winner of “ZIT Green Innovation” Award June 2011

    An international jury selected crystalsol as winner and awarded a grant for process development. crystalsol will use the funds to scale the grinding process for roll-to-roll production of photovoltaic modules. The ZIT Green Innovation award targeted projects with efficient and sustainable use of natural resources.

  • crystalsol selected as winner of Saint-Gobain innovation award January 2011

    Saint-Gobain, world leader in habitat, has just completed the third global innovation competition and awarded start-up companies offering the most innovative solutions in the fields of habitat, energy and the environment. The jury singled out crystalsol as one of the three winners. Going forward Saint-Gobain will support crystalsol in commercializing its patented CZTS technology.

  • crystalsol among top 25 of the Eurecan European Venture Contest December 2010

    crystalsol was among the finalists of the 2010 EEVC in Barcelona. The finalists were selected from a total of 987 applications from 24 countries. The contest is the largest venture contest organized in Europe and receives big attention from venture capital companies.

  • crystalsol national winner of ENERGY GLOBE 2010 June 2010

    The Energy Globe Country Awards supports projects that conserve and protect our resources or that employ renewable energy. crystalsol is the selected winner of the national award in Estonia.

  • crystalsol awarded grant from austria wirtschaftsserviceO February 2010

    austria wirtschaftsservice (aws) supports crystalsol with Seedfinancing of EUR 1 milion for advancing its cell technology and ramping up pilot production for photovoltaic modules at small scale

  • crystalsol selected winner of State Prize Environment and Energy Technology 2010 February 2010

    The State Prize for Environment and Energy Technologies awards Austrians most successful companies in the field environment and energy technologies. Due to high innovative character and huge market potential crystalsol was selected number one in the category "Research and Innovation"

  • crystalsol selected Gewinn Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 November 2009

    Out of more than 1000 Austrian startup companies crystalsol was ranked as overall number one by a high profile jury in "Gewinn" magazine´s annual competition. In addition to the main category the Austrian Ministry of Economy also named crystalsol the winner in the High Tech category

  • crystalsol OÜ receives seed financing from top VCs August 2009

    crystalsol OÜ successfully closes seed financing round with strong Nordic VC consortium - Conor Venture Partners from Finland and Energy Future Invest from Norway. Download press release in English and Estonian

  • crystalsol awarded grant from Enterprise Estonia June 2009

    Enterprise Estonia (EAS) awards crystalsol a grant of EUR 1.5 million for applied research on the improvement of crystalsol’s semiconductor material. The project is scheduled until the end of 2010

  • crystalsol gets financial support from Austrian Research Promotion Agency June 2009

    The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) supports crystalsol with EUR 400,000 for developing the core process steps of the photovoltaic module production

  • crystalsol awarded grant from austria wirtschaftsservice April 2009

    austria wirtschaftsservice (aws) awards crystalsol a grant of EUR 100,000 for advanced testing and measurement of semiconductor material and photovoltaic modules

  • crystalsol among finalists of Red Herring Europe 100 March 2009

    crystalsol is named a WINNER of the Red Herring 100 Europe, an award given to the top 100 most promising technology companies based in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region each year

  • Establishment of crystalsol OG February 2009

    crystalsol OG is founded by Dieter Meissner, Thomas Badegruber and Wolfgang Ressler with the focus to develop a low-cost photovoltaic module including the required production process

  • crystalsol reaches 5.9% conversion efficiency February 2009

    Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) independently certifies a 5.9% conversion efficiency of crystalsol’s CZTS based photovoltaic cells

  • crystalsol receives Feasibility Study grant February 2009

    The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) awards a grant to crystalsol to support the development of its patented module production process

  • crystalsol among winners of first Venture Lounge in Vienna November 2008

    Out of 35 preselected start-up companies crystalsol wins third place in Vienna’s first Venture Lounge organized by venture capital companies Neuhaus Partners and Global Equity Partners and the PR-network European Marketing Communications

  • crystalsol becomes part of INiTs incubator August 2008

    crystalsol joins INiTs, an academic business incubator in Vienna and gets vital support to build up its Austrian operations

  • Establishment of crystalsol OÜ June 2008

    crystalsol OÜ is founded as spin off company of the Technical University Tallinn and registered in Tallinn, Estonia

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Careers

We believe that our people are the cornerstone for our success. As a small-cap photovoltaic company without a rigid bureaucracy or hierarchy, we offer a challenging, entrepreneurial environment based on meritocratic principles. We are looking for exceptional, highly motivated individuals who share our desire to make crystalsol‘s vision a success. Besides attractive performance-based compensation, you can expect a high degree of autonomy, flexibility, and responsibility from day one and to play a key role in a team of outstanding individuals. We offer the chance to shape a fast growing start-up company in one of the currently most dynamic industries.

If you are interested in working with us, we are pleased to receive your application. Please send us an e-mail including your full application documents.

Austrian team

Vienna, Austria

crystalsol GmbH
Christine Touaillon Strasse 11/4
1220 Vienna, Austria

Estonian team

Tallinn, Estonia

crystalsol OÜ
Akadeemia tee 15a
12618 Tallinn, Estonia