HP to license technology to solar startup

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has entered into a licensing agreement with solar panel startup, Xtreme Energetics (XE).

Under the agreement, Livermore, Calif.-based XE will develop a solar energy system based on HP’s transparent transistor technology, which it co-developed with Oregon State University, in exchange for royalty payments.

Promising energy yields at twice the efficiency and half the cost of traditional solar panels, the solar technology is to be comprised of thin film transparent transistors, which should allow for higher mobility, better chemical stability and easier manufacture than panels using silicon.

According to the companies, the transparent transistors will enable XE to control the concentration of light and will improve the overall efficiency of the panels and allow more light to penetrate and convert into energy than traditional panels.

In addition to using low-cost materials, such as zinc and tin, HP and XE said the system’s flat design is to eliminate the need for mechanical tracking of the sun, resulting in panels that are low-profile.

Other solar startups promising strides forward in non-moving solar range from large operations such as Germany's Sunfilm to California's SV Solar, a solar company also touting low-profile and less expensive systems that do not require tracking.

XE said it has already filed for U.S. and international patents and plans to make its solar solution available for both commercial customers and the central utility market.

The startup also said it is currently seeking early stage investors for further product development and to establish manufacturing in the U.S. and abroad.