Cleantech Special Interest Group Hosted by Applied Ventures

Applied Ventures recently hosted the Cleantech Special Interest Group (SIG), a cadre of cleantech investors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and Eric Wesoff of Greentech Media.

The group toured Applied's facility and viewed the Sunfab PECVD tool chamber, the world’s most powerful solar glass module as well as got a peek at the AKT Gen 10 display glass – the largest in production today. The tour allowed the group to gain a better understanding of Applied’s global, technical and manufacturing capabilities and the synergies across Display and Thin Film Solar.

Dr. Randhir Thakur led a lively discussion which outlined Applied’s efficiency and cost roadmap. He also discussed Applied’s downstream fab2farm initiatives to drive adoption of Utility Scale Solar. Thomas Friedman’s New York Times editorial “Have a Nice Day” — based on his recent tour of Applied’s facilities — was timely and sparked discussion related to solar manufacturing and job creation as a result of regional manufacturing and solar farms. Applied currently has 14 Sunfab factories and six are in volume production in different parts of the globe, although none in the United States.

The day’s events answered the group’s questions regarding the Sunfab cost roadmap, and allowed them to see first hand a 5.7 m2 solar panel and PECVD chamber. The tour served to improve the awareness of Applied’s solar and display equipment capabilities, and reiterated the need for private investors to step up support for solar manufacturing in the U.S.

The group in front of a SunFab Gen 8.5 PECVD chamber. Front Row (L to R): Tak Tanaka (Applied Materials), Daniel Leff (Globespan), Matt Trevithick (Venrock),  Ricardo Angel (GE Energy),  Michele Klein (Applied Materials), Matthew Nordan (Venrock), Brad Mattson (VantagePoint Venture Partners), Chris Moran (Applied Materials), Raj Atluru (Draper Fisher Jurvetson).

Back Row (L to R): Ullas Naik (Globespan), Anand Kamannavar (Applied Materials), Victor Westerlind (Rockport), Kumar Gogineni (EnPhase Energy), Mitch Zuklie (Orrick), Michael Sears (Siemens Venture Capital), David Dreessen (Battery), Eric Wesoff (Greentech Media).