U.S. perovskite solar company Tandem PV has acquired nexTC, an Oregon-based developer of advanced thin-film metal oxide coating processes. The deal brings nexTC's coating technology, intellectual property, and technical expertise in-house, giving Tandem PV greater control over a critical manufacturing step as it ramps up its California demonstration line and prepares for commercial-scale production.

The acquisition reflects a broader pattern in the perovskite solar sector, where companies moving from lab-scale cells to factory-floor production are acquiring specialized supply-chain capabilities to accelerate commercialization.

Founded in 2018 as a spinout from an NSF-funded research center at Oregon State University, nexTC specializes in solution-based transparent oxide coatings. In tandem solar panels, these ultrathin layers modify charge transport while still allowing sunlight to reach the underlying silicon cell. Their performance directly affects module efficiency, durability, and manufacturability — three parameters that have historically gated perovskite technology from competing with incumbent silicon modules.

nexTC founder and CEO Cory Perkins, Ph.D., will join Tandem PV as part of the acquisition.

"We've worked with Cory for years and know firsthand the value of his expertise in oxide thin-films, which are critical to building durable, high-performing perovskite modules," said Scott Wharton, CEO of Tandem PV. "Bringing Cory's expertise and nexTC's technology into Tandem gives us greater control over a core part of the manufacturing process and allows us to optimize it directly on our production line as we scale."

Tandem PV's demonstration factory currently houses a production line with approximately 40 MW of annual nameplate capacity. The facility is producing large-format tandem solar panels for customer validation and market trials.

"After collaborating with Tandem PV on several projects, I saw a team that combines strong science with the ability to move technology onto a manufacturing line," Perkins said. "Joining Tandem gives us the opportunity to integrate nexTC's coating technology directly into a manufacturing platform advancing toward commercial-scale production."

Tandem PV's technology combines a thin perovskite light-absorbing layer with conventional silicon, allowing each material to capture a different portion of the solar spectrum. This tandem architecture enables panels to generate more electricity from the same surface area, reducing the land, labor, and infrastructure required to deploy each watt of solar power. Perovskite-silicon tandem cells have already surpassed the theoretical efficiency ceiling of single-junction silicon cells in laboratory settings, making the transition from record cell efficiencies to durable, mass-produced modules the central challenge for companies like Tandem PV.

Source: Solar Power World