Green Science Alliance Invests in Perovskite Startup

• EneCoat Technologies of Japan has secured an undisclosed investment from Green Science Alliance
• Green Science Alliance will cooperate with EneCoat in the research of developing high-efficiency lead-free thin film perovskite solar cell
• They also plan to work together on manufacturing and sales of the cells outside Japan

Kyoto University's spin-off EneCoat Technologies Co., Ltd., developing a lead-free perovskite solar cell, has secured an unidentified amount of investment from Japanese chemicals producer Green Science Alliance Co., Ltd.

EneCoat's research is directed towards commercial manufacturing of lead-free thin-film perovskite solar cells with higher power conversion efficiency and durability. The company is led by CEO Naoya Kato and CTO Prof. Dr. Atsushi Wakamiya. It believes such cells can be deployed for a range of surfaces including watches and wearable devices, smart streetlights, emergency shelter tents, rooftop generators, space development, solar planes, cars and drones, among others.

Green Science Alliance's interest in EneCoat comes from its next generation solar cell research. The company is also working on developing biodegradable resin, coating, paint, color, glue and the like. Specifically, it is developing electrode material for solar cells as metal oxide, carbon-based material, and quantum dot.

With this investment, EneCoat and Green Science Alliance said they will cooperate on their research and development work, and also for sales outside Japan.

Perovskite solar cells can be printed with metal oxide, metal, carbon-based materials and perovskite crystal layers, and deposited on any curved surface because of their flexibility. A February 2021 report by Rethink Technology Research sees it as a disruptive force in the global solar supply chains, and expects global perovskite solar manufacturing capacity to reach 117 GW by 2030 (see Solar Future Bright With Perovskite?).