Semprius

Market position

Semprius was described as a leading innovator in low-cost, high-performance CPV modules and, by 2017, as one of the last remaining concentrated photovoltaic startups. The broader CPV sub-market was small and troubled, with roughly 100 megawatts deployed and about $500 million invested over the prior decade, versus hundreds of billions in the silicon PV industry. Many CPV peers exited: Amonix closed its Las Vegas plant in 2012 and became Arzon Solar, Soitec left CPV in 2015, SolFocus shut down in 2013, GreenVolts went out of business in 2012, Cyrium went out of business, and Solar Junction was acquired; Suncore and Morgan Solar remained active. Silicon module pricing fell 33.8% in the period following the first half of 2016, further undermining CPV economics.

Semprius' claimed differentiators were its patented micro-transfer printing process and the use of what it described as the world's smallest solar cells — triple-junction GaAs microcells measuring 600µm by 600µm and less than 10µm thick, roughly the size of a pencil point. Because the microcells were so small, low-cost optics and electrical interconnects could be used and heat was removed passively, eliminating costly thermal management. Growing cells on a release layer allowed the GaAs substrate to be reused, and automated manufacturing using standard equipment and commodity materials was intended to reduce capital and labor costs. Cell efficiency of 41.7% at 1,000 suns was tested by NREL.

Technology

Semprius' HCPV modules used high-performance glass lenses to concentrate sunlight roughly 1,000 times onto triple-junction gallium arsenide microcells measuring 600µm x 600µm and under 10µm thick, so microcells covered about 0.1% of module area. Cells were grown atop a release layer and epitaxially lifted off via a patented micro-transfer printing process, enabling GaAs substrate reuse and transfer of hundreds to thousands of devices at a time onto glass, flexible or rigid plastic, metal or other semiconductors. The small cell size permitted low-cost optics and interconnects and passive heat removal without dedicated thermal management, and manufacturing used automated, standard equipment and commodity materials. NREL tested cell conversion efficiency at 41.7% (41% at 1,000 suns validated in December 2011).

Go-to-market

Semprius positioned itself as a vertically integrated module manufacturer selling HCPV panels to system integrators, who mounted them on two-axis trackers for utility-scale solar projects. It brought in Siemens as a strategic investor and potential customer to gain global market reach, and used state and federal incentives to fund pilot manufacturing capacity intended to scale to larger plants. A secondary channel was licensing micro-transfer printing to non-solar semiconductor and electronics markets.

System integrators building two-axis tracker-mounted utility-scale solar plants in high direct-sunlight regions, plus enterprise and government customers; licensing targets included makers of flat-panel displays, flexible electronics, large-area sensors and RF devices.

Geography

Headquarters and operations were in Durham, North Carolina (4915 Prospectus Drive, Suite C, Durham, NC 27713), with origins at Illinois Research Park in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. A pilot/production plant was planned and built in Henderson, Vance County, North Carolina. The first full test installation of its modules was operational in Arizona from August 2010. The technology was targeted at sunny, dry regions along the global sunbelt.

History

Semprius, formerly known as pSi-tech, Inc., was founded in 2005 as a spin-out of the University of Illinois and was a tenant of the EnterpriseWorks incubator at Illinois Research Park from 2005 to 2007. It subsequently relocated to Durham, North Carolina (4915 Prospectus Drive, Suite C). It raised a $4.7m Series A in 2007, an additional $7.9m round in 2009, a $20m Series C led by Siemens Venture Capital that closed in July 2011, and a $3m follow-on tranche announced in January 2012 involving Morgan Creek Capital Management. In June 2011 Siemens took a roughly 16% minority stake as a strategic investor. Also in July 2011 the company secured a North Carolina incentives package worth more than $7.88m toward a pilot plant in Henderson, NC, and it opened its first solar module production facility in 2012. Reporting in March 2012 noted a further $7.5m secured for the CPV plant. By January 2017 trade press reported the company was running out of runway: it had relied on repeated debt offerings since 2013, Siemens had exited the solar industry in 2013, senior executives had departed, and incentives including a $750,000 federal Community Development Block Grant were being clawed back or repaid. A University of Illinois Research Park profile states Semprius was eventually acquired; SBIR records list its program status as inactive.

Risks & controversies

By January 2017 Semprius faced acute financing risk, having repeatedly raised small debt rounds rather than new venture equity since 2013, with commentary suggesting it had been unable to find a VC investor willing to invest. Its strategic investor and potential customer Siemens divested entirely from solar in 2013. Employment commitments tied to public incentives were not met — headcount peaked at about 30 against a 256-job target attached to a $7.8 million incentives package — resulting in clawbacks and repayment of an expired $750,000 federal Community Development Block Grant to Vance County. Senior executives departed while still listed on the company website, and management and board members did not respond to press inquiries. The structural collapse of CPV economics against rapidly cheapening silicon PV was the overarching risk.