Global Solar modules get U.S. military approval

Global Solar Energy, maker of flexible thin-film Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) solar cells, has passed U.S. military tests and received a coveted rating.

The U.S. National Technical Systems Arizona subjected the company's P3 Portable Power Pack folding solar module to immersion, vibration, high temperature storage, low temperature storage, temperature shock, altitude, sand & dust and transit drop testing.

The company's P3 module received MILSTD-810E certification.

“We anticipated that our P3 products would pass the tests,” said Mike Gering, President of Global Solar, himself a former military serviceman who spent 25 years in the U.S. Marines and retired with the rank of Colonel.

“The military likes our modules because you can drive a tank over them, or shoot them full of holes, and they still work,” said Gering in a recent the Cleantech Group webinar (see Rubber bullets at solar shoot-out.)

Global Solar’s flexible, foldable solar modules come in varying sizes for consumer and military applications, and can be used to charge anything from cell phones and iPods to military 2590 rechargeable batteries, the company said.

Its products are available through distribution.

Global Solar was established in 1996 and is based in Tucson, Arizona. It was acquired by Germany's Solon AG in March of this year.

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