Vapor deposition: leading companies?
…1 millionth of an atmosphere, to deposit nm-μm thick layers of ultra-pure materials onto semiconductor and solar substrates, to make PV silicon, solar modules, computer chips, AI chips, LEDs, plus…
Sila: silicon anode battery breakthrough?
Sila Nanotechnologies was founded in Silicon Valley in 2011, to develop smaller and denser batteries, using silicon-comprising nano-particles in the battery anodes. Thus it claims to have made “the biggest…
Electromagnetic energy: Planck, Shockley-Queisser, power beaming?
…a higher energy state, from which electricity can be drawn out of a solar cell. For silicon, the bandgap is 1.1 eV. https://thundersaidenergy.com/2023/10/19/semiconductor-physics-piece-de-resistance/ What provides the energy is photons in…
Industrial materials: thermodynamic efficiency?
…chains that yield glass, solar panels and semiconductors. For the latter two applications, silica might be reduced into silicon ‘metal’ in an electric arc furnace. And overall, we think this…
Electrical conductivity: energy transition materials?
…Electrical grade steel is used in electric motors, transformers and generators, in order to create electro-magnetic fields. Finally, PV silicon is a semiconductor, around 10,000 more resistive than conductive metals,…
Global polysilicon production capacity?
Polysilicon is a highly pure, crystalline silicon material, used predominantly for photovoltaic solar, and also for ‘chips’ in the electronics industry. Global polysilicon capacity is estimated to reach 1.65MTpa in…
Hillcrest: ZVS inverter breakthrough?
…up to 13% higher range than today’s inverters, especially for use in EV powertrains; but also in wind, solar, batteries and fast-chargers. It is based on SiC semiconductors. This Hillcrest…
DC-DC power converters: efficiency calculations?
…different input variables. We think value will accrue to leading semiconductor and power-electronics companies, that can improve the efficiency of electrification technologies. Recent examples include Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductor, Zero-Voltage…
Commodity prices: metals, materials and chemicals?
…Silica prices surpassed $70/ton, silicon metal prices reached $4,000/ton and polysilicon prices surpassed $30/kg (charts below). Silica price, silicon price and polysilicon price in $ per ton The full database…
CO2 intensity of materials: an overview?
…value chains that truly are CO2 intensive (i.e., emissions are above 20 tons/ton or even 100 tons/ton). This includes PV silicon and silver for solar panels; carbon fiber and rare…