BrightView achieves milestones at Signet Solar thin film photovoltaic plant

BrightView Systems, a Petah Tikva, Israel-based cleantech start-up, announced today the successful integration and validation of its WAM (Wide Area Metrology) process metrology and mapping solution for thin-film PV manufacturers at Signet Solar's production line in Mochau, Germany.

The WAM tool, developed by BrightView in Israel, has, according to the company, "successfully demonstrated its contribution to both panel efficiency and line productivity via its in-line, true-cell-metrology and measurement capabilities and associated suite of control applications for excursion detection, chamber matching and process window optimization."

Signet Solar has now embedded BrightView's system into their production flow is now implementing fully automated continuous full-panel process monitoring and feedback on 100% of production panels. The system, according to BrightView, greatly reduces reliance on off-line measurements and special test panel cycles.

"The BrightView solution fills a major gap in the industry's transition from pilot to mass production, providing true 24/7 in-line process monitoring while saving long and tedious off-line cycles and test panels," said Gunter Ziegenbalg, Managing Director of Signet Solar GmbH. "The system has been embraced by our R&D engineers, who are finally generating the data they need for concrete process improvements and optimization, and by our production engineers, who are relying on the continuous automatic alerting of process issues, as well as much quicker turn-around following process tool maintenance."

Benny Shoham, CEO of BrightView added, "Signet Solar has put our system through rigorous testing, allowing us to validate our vision in a high volume production line using actual panel performance data. Their talented team, working with the BrightView state-of-the-art WAM solution, was able to deliver major improvements to line productivity in a very short time. We are excited by the excellent results they achieved, and look forward to continue working with Signet Solar on their next production milestone and process improvement roadmap, as well as accelerate efficiency and productivity gains for the thin film PV industry."

In 2008, BrightView Systems raised a $6 million Series A round of financing from Israel Cleantech Ventures and Hasso Plattner Ventures.

Related Posts:

BrightView Systems and EPFL announce thin-film solar collaboration

BrightView raises $6 million from Israel Cleantech Ventures and Hasso Plattner Ventures

BrightView raises $6 million from Israel Cleantech Ventures and Hasso Plattner Ventures

BrightView Systems Ltd., a solar photovoltaic startup based in Petah Tikva, Israel, announced today that it has recently finalized a $6 million Series A round of financing. Eyal Harel, formerly Co-President of Orbotech, has become BrightView's Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) financed BrightView Systems in mid 2008 and was later joined by Hasso Plattner Ventures (HPV), a Germany-based venture capital fund whose limited partners include CMEA Ventures, Shai Agassi, Arnon Katz and Hasso Plattner, the co-founder of SAP. Glen Schwaber, partner at ICV, is now a director of BrightView Systems.

"BrightView is focused on perfecting the production process of photovoltaic-based solar-cells," said Benny Shoham, BrightView's co-founder and CEO. "Our tools are designed to deliver a solution suite that uniquely addresses some key production gaps while optimized to meet the particular needs of the most advanced solar-cells manufacturers. The current investment will enable us to introduce our first solution to the market during 2009."

"Headquartered in Potsdam (Germany), Hasso Plattner Ventures is well positioned to support BrightView's access to the European market and particularly to Germany, which is by far the most developed solar photovoltaic market in the world today, both in solar deployments and in investments in advanced photovoltaic production," said Eran Davidson, President and CEO of Hasso Plattner Ventures. "We believe that BrightView is addressing an essential key segment that is still insufficiently developed in the photovoltaic industry's value chain.

"BrightView exemplifies our strategy of investing in entrepreneurial teams that leverage Israeli technology know-how to solve major bottlenecks in cleantech markets," noted Glen Schwaber, Partner at Israel Cleantech Ventures. "The company's competitive advantage stems from applying Israel's recognized leadership in the Semiconductor and Flat Panel Display industries to the growing market for solar process equipment."

Related Posts:

Israel Cleantech Ventures closes on $75 million fund

Israel Cleantech buys 11% of AqWise

Pythagoras Solar raises $10m from Israel Cleantech, Pitango, and Evergreen