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.