ALBANY, N.Y. – The U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC), an industry-led collaboration headquartered at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany in New York to accelerate next-generation solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies, today announced the hiring of Joseph Hudgins as senior vice president for business development and strategic alliances.

“We are excited to welcome Joe, who brings a broad set of experiences in the solar PV industry along with a strong set of strategic business skills,” said Dan Armbrust, CEO of PVMC and president and CEO of SEMATECH. “His capabilities are well suited to help PVMC continue to build its membership and partnerships across a wide range of U.S. solar PV stakeholders in support of the DOE SunShot initiative.”

“In support of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s vision and leadership in making New York a national model for next-generation solar energy technologies, the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium is pleased to continue to build a first-rate team to drive world-class innovation,” said Pradeep Haldar, COO and CTO of PVMC and vice president of clean energy programs for CNSE. “Joe Hudgins brings broad experience and recognized skills that will benefit PVMC and, most importantly, its public and private partners.”

In his new role, Hudgins will engage with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, member companies, universities, national labs, and companies across the solar supply chain to enhance PVMC’s current partnership activities, and develop new alliances to expand the consortium’s membership, funding, and programs. Hudgins will work with PVMC members and the PVMC leadership team headquartered at CNSE to provide support in implementing strategies to increase the performance and speed the implementation of PV technologies, while improving manufacturing processes.

Hudgins joins PVMC from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, where he was principal solar specialist. In this role, Hudgins was responsible for strategy and business development and supported investments with advisory, due diligence and portfolio review in more than 10 countries.

Prior to joining IFC, Hudgins served as president of JHGH Inc., a multinational strategic consulting and corporate business planning advisory firm he founded to help companies in the sustainable and renewable energy sectors implement operational and business capitalization strategies, while also supporting business developments and joint venture relations in the U.S., Canada, Spain, India, Middle East and Asia. Before that, he served as chief executive officer for Solar Array Ventures Inc. (SAVe), a start-up solar manufacturing company targeting U.S. markets and job creation that he founded in 2007.

Hudgins’ unique technology background also includes five years at BP Solar and Solarex, where he served as vice president of global crystalline silicon operations and over 10 years at Cypress Semiconductor, where he was responsible for total product shipments that enabled more than $300M revenue as site director.

About PVMC

The Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC), spearheaded by the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany and SEMATECH as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot Initiative, is an industry-led consortium for cooperative R&D among industry, university, and government partners to accelerate the development, commercialization, and manufacturing of next-generation solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Through its programs and advanced manufacturing development facilities, PVMC is a proving ground for innovative solar technologies and manufacturing processes. For more information on the U.S. PVMC, visit www.uspvmc.org.

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Media contacts:

Steve Janack, CNSE
(518) 956-7322 | sjanack@albany.edu