Tandem PV acquires transparent coating tech firm nexTC to advance perovskite manufacturing

A California solar company called Tandem PV has bought nexTC Corporation, an Oregon firm that makes thin, see-through coatings used in solar panel manufacturing. Tandem PV makes a newer kind of solar panel called a tandem panel, which stacks a perovskite layer (a light-absorbing crystal material) on top of a standard silicon solar cell. The idea is that combining the two materials captures more sunlight and produces more electricity than a standard silicon panel alone.

The coatings nexTC develops sit between those two layers, letting sunlight through while managing the electrical current, and Tandem PV says they matter a lot for how well the panels work and how long they last. By buying nexTC and bringing its founder onto the team, Tandem PV says it can now fine-tune this part of the manufacturing process directly on its own production line, which is currently making large-format tandem panels for testing with potential customers.

For homeowners, this isn't a product you can buy yet. It's a manufacturing step in the development of a next-generation solar panel technology that promises higher efficiency than today's silicon-only panels. Tandem PV has raised $100 million so far from investors including Constellation Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy, and former U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently joined its board. If tandem perovskite-silicon panels eventually reach the market, they could offer more power per panel for residential solar installations, but that's still down the road.