Pilot Production Coming for High-Performance PV Silicon

Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) through the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance Investment Fund (SCA Fund) are pleased to announce the investment in Ubiquity Solar Inc. BIC/SCA's investment in Ubiquity Solar will help the company secure a pilot production plant that is to be located at TransAlta's Bluewater Energy Park in Sarnia, ON.

Led by President & CEO Ian MacLellan, Ubiquity Solar Inc. has developed a low-cost alternative to manufacturing high performance, advanced silicon materials used in the photovoltaic (PV) and semiconductor industry. Initially targeting the PV market, Ubiquity’s high-performance PV materials present a unique value proposition for customers– higher quality PV wafers that achieve higher cell efficiency.

Ubiquity Solar is developing a proprietary process to produce cost-effective high performance silicon bricks and wafers for optimizing solar cell designs to achieve higher efficiency and energy output. USI’s highly integrated and modular proprietary process provides the following advantages over standard commodity wafers.

Features of the Ubiquity Solar process include: Ultra high minority charge carrier lifetime - allows for higher solar cell efficiency; Extremely low Oxygen and Carbon - results in no measurable light induced degradation (LID); Very narrow resistivity range - provides cell-to-cell and batch-to-batch consistency; and P- or N-type wafer - Leverages existing production lines, extending their useful life.

Cost effective, high performance silicon bricks and wafers from Ubiquity Solar will improve value chain profit and market share by providing increased solar cell performance.

“We are very pleased to have the financial commitment from the SCA Fund. Their strategic support as the lead investor for our Series B financing has already led to additional investment,” says Ian MacLellan. “This will allow us to go to the next phase in our project to produce industry leading high performance silicon wafers for the solar industry.”

Ubiquity Solar is currently posted on the TSX Private Markets and is currently engaged in a Series B funding round.

“Bioindustrial Innovation Canada is very excited about its investment in Ubiquity,” says Sandy Marshall. “Their technology is potentially disruptive and we look forward to working with Ubiquity to execute their business plan and support their success.”

The investment in Ubiquity Solar Inc. is consistent with BIC’s mandate to provide strategic investment while creating jobs and economic value sustainably for Canada.