Thursday 22nd of July 2010
Dublin, IRELAND - July 22nd 2010: Mr. Batt O’Keeffe, TD, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Innovation today officially opened the new headquarters of SolarPrint in Dublin and announced the creation of 80 new jobs by the Irish energy technology company.
SolarPrint specialises in the development of dye sensitised solar cell (DSSC) technology, which is used to convert light to energy. The company is currently patenting its technologies and will open its first high volume manufacturing line next year in Dublin.
Officially opening SolarPrint's new headquarters in Dublin, Minister O’Keeffe said: “The firm has an exciting business plan which will generate 80 new jobs by focusing on product innovation in the fast-growing energy technology sector”.
”Ireland is now recognised internationally as a top incubator for product innovation.
SolarPrint's ambitious expansion plans demonstrate that we have the right mix of pro-business taxation policies, high-potential enterprise supports and talented workforce to enable firms to create products and services for worldwide consumption,” said Minister O’Keeffe.
“As Ireland enters economic recovery, the Government is anxious to continue supporting innovative scalable enterprises that can create high-quality jobs and drive strong export sales,” the Minister added.
SolarPrint was established in 2008 by Dr. Mazhar Bari, Chief Executive Officer, Andre Fernon, Chief Financial Officer and Roy Horgan, Business Development Director. It has devised a unique form of DSSC technology that can be developed to convert light to energy at a lower cost than other forms of photovoltaic technologies.
The company is currently recruiting for the new positions, which will be based in Dublin and which will be highly skilled roles requiring personnel with exceptional qualifications in the fields of chemistry, electrical engineering, physics and material sciences. SolarPrint also plans to hire staff for commercial and financial roles to support its expansion plans. The company currently employs 20 staff but this number is set to rise to 80 by the end of 2012.
Dr. Mazhar Bari, Chief Executive Officer, SolarPrint, said: “For us, this is the latest stage in our evolution from start-up firm to established enterprise. Broadly speaking, our new staff will be split between engineering personnel, who will on the production line and R&D staff, who will work on product development and testing.
“This recruitment drive will be a significant shot in the arm for the post-graduate research sector in Ireland and will help to position Ireland as a viable knowledge centre in the field of photovoltaic technology,” said Dr. Bari.
“However, on a wider level, we’d like to think that we’re making an important contribution to the ongoing advancement of the clean technology agenda in Ireland and elsewhere,” he said.
SolarPrint recently signed an agreement with car manufacturer Fiat to develop solar panels to be incorporated into the roof surface of automotives, to generate alternative sources of energy for vehicles by converting light to power. It has also just entered into an agreement with the Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), one of the largest research centres of its kind in the world, for the joint development of new photo-voltaic (PV) solutions that can be used in consumer applications.
“Our success in reaching agreements with Fiat and Taiwan and the interest expressed in our technologies by global consumer companies in particular, encouraged us to set up a pilot production line last year. Having refined and stress tested our manufacturing processes, we will move to high volume manufacturing in 2011. This is a very exciting development for us and will help SolarPrint drive the demand for our technologies in Ireland and overseas”, he said.
“In simple terms, the world - not just Ireland - is going to be forced to radically change the way in which energy is consumed. Supplies of fossil fuels are finite and there is no question that more sustainable forms of energy have to be found. We firmly believe that photovoltaic technology, especially the DSSC technology that we have developed, has a critical role to play in creating a solution to this problem,” said Dr. Bari.
About SolarPrint:
SolarPrint develops photo-voltaic (PV) energy technologies, designed to convert light from any source into energy. SolarPrint’s technology has been devised to work in the same way that a plant, using its leaves, converts light to energy, using photosynthesis. The company develops dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC), a third generation printable and flexible solar cell technology, which can be produced using cheap raw materials at a highly competitive cost. Based in Sandyford, Dublin, SolarPrint’s nanotechnology-based technology has applications across a range of industries, in consumer electronic devices, in the construction industry, and in the automotive sector. Further information is available at: www.solarprint.ie.
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