Dr. Pradeep Haldar, vice president for clean energy programs and professor and head of nanoeconomics at CNSE, provided an introduction to the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC) and discussed how a collaborative approach to research, development and commercialization is necessary to provide significant, positive and sustainable impact on the growth of the U.S. PV industry.

A more than $300 million partnership between CNSE and SEMATECH to enable the development of advanced PV-related manufacturing processes, PVMC was created as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot initiative, which is designed to reduce the cost of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent over the next decade. PVMC will engage more than 40 companies and organizations from throughout the solar community, with CNSE and SEMATECH spearheading a unique research and development collaboration through which industry, academia and government will accelerate the development, commercialization and manufacturing of next-generation copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film PV manufacturing technologies, increasing performance while driving down the cost and risk of bringing them to the marketplace.

Meanwhile, CNSE Associate Vice President for Business, Alliances and Consortia Dr. Michael Liehr addressed nanoelectronics suppliers, researchers and scientists during a session at SEMICON West 2011that highlighted the unique pilot scale design and manufacturing services available to technology startups, fabless companies, research organizations, IDMs, and universities to facilitate the rapid commercialization of new and innovative products. His presentation detailed a set of current activities and potential future opportunities for custom-development of 65nm CMOS-based capability at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech Complex.

SEMICON West annually attracts more than 45,000 attendees from over 15 countries, as well as the world's leading nanoelectronics companies, which are responsible for every major technology breakthrough since the birth of the integrated circuit. Since its establishment in 2008, Inersolar North America 2011 has developed into the premier platform for the solar industry in North America, focusing on photovoltaics and solar thermal technology.