Financial

Homerun Resources has signed a binding agreement to acquire Halocell Europe, a perovskite solar technology company, aiming to advance the commercialization of perovskite solar cells. Homerun Resources has agreed to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Halocell Europe from Halocell Energy. This acquisition positions Homerun as a key player in the solar energy market, leveraging Halocell’s expertise and ongoing projects in Europe.

Homerun is developing a vertically integrated business within the energy transition focused on the solar and energy storage sectors. Halocell focuses on research and development of perovskite technology to produce perovskite solar cells. Halocell Europe has more than EUR 2 million in active grants for research and commercial development projects and has received more than EUR 5 million in grant contributions from various European institutions. Halocell Europe has 18 months of working capital coverage in place for current operations.

Japan-based startup PXP Corporation, developer of lightweight and flexible solar cells, has raised a total of 1.5 billion yen (almost USD$10 million) in Series A funding, led by SoftBank Corp., with participation from SOLABLE Corporation, Kowa Optronics Co., Ltd., Toyota Tsusho Corporation, J&TC Frontier LLC (a joint investment vehicle between JFE Engineering Corporation and Tokyo Century Corporation), Automobile Fund Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi HC Capital Co., Ltd., Yokohama Capital Co., Ltd., and TARO Ventures. SoftBank has invested approximately 1 billion yen and acquired approximately 29.9% of PXP's shares.

The solar cell technology being developed by PXP has a tandem structure that combines perovskite solar cells and chalcopyrite solar cells, said to achieve more than 1.5 times the energy conversion efficiency (theoretical value: about 42%) of conventional solar cells. In addition, it is lightweight and flexible, weighing about one-tenth of conventional solar cells, and has high durability against shock and vibration. It can be installed in various locations depending on the application, and it is expected to reduce installation costs. PXP and SoftBank aim to use PXP's next-generation solar cells for various purposes, such as operating SoftBank's data center with green energy, in anticipation of future electricity demand.

Kunshan GCL Optoelectronic Material, a perovskite optoelectronic technology company under GCL Technology Holdings, has recently completed the C1 round of financing led by Goldstone Investment, involving nearly RMB500 million (around USD$68,850,000).

This round of financing introduced institutions such as Kunshan High-Tech Group and HongShan to participate in the investment, and the proceeds will be used to build Kunshan GCL Optoelectronic Material's Kunshan gigawatt perovskite Ore stacked production line, which is expected to be put into operation in 2025. 

Two Eindhoven University of Technology researchers, Shuxia Tao and Nikolay Kosinov, have received an ERC Consolidator Grant worth 2 million euros from the European Research Council (ERC). Tao will research the chirality of materials with perovskites, and Kosinov will focus on carbon-based catalysts. 

Schematic representation of chiral material structures. Image credit: TU/e, Shuxia Tao 

Shuxia Tao, a Professor of Computational Materials Physics at the Department of Applied Physics and Science Education, studies semiconductors such as perovskites. During Tao’s research, she noted that many materials, both organic and inorganic, have chiral properties. She explains: “Chirality refers to a property where objects are mirror images of each other but cannot be superimposed, like our left and right hands. This property is universal in nature, appearing in everything from twisting DNA to the spin of subatomic particles.”

Three research projects by City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) scholars have been awarded funding under the 2024/25 National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Research Grants Council (RGC) Collaborative Research Scheme (CRS), amounting to over HK$8.8 million (around USD$1,130,000). Additionally, five CityUHK scholars have been awarded funding from the 2024/25 NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme (JRS), with total funding exceeding HK$6 million (over USD$770,000). 

Among the CityUHK research projects awarded funding under the Collaborative Research Scheme is  “Theoretically Guided Material Design, Syntheses and Device Engineering for Efficient and Stable Perovskite/Organic Tandem Solar Cells”, led by Professor Zeng Xiaocheng, Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, which aims to develop high-performance perovskite/organic tandem solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 28%, promoting the development of sustainable clean energy while advocating global carbon neutrality.

MOL PLUS has announced its intent to invest in EneCoat Technologies, a spin-off company from Kyoto University that develops perovskite solar cells and related materials.

MOL PLUS stated it is "pleased to participate in this fundraising" and views the widespread use of perovskite solar cells as a revolutionary solution that will enable power generation anywhere, indoors or outdoors. Moving forward, the MOL Group plans to study a wide range of applications in the port, logistics, and real property fields, including installation on the decks of freighters and on the roofs and walls of port facilities such as warehouses and terminal cargo handling centers.

It was reported that Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) have decided to support a demonstration project for perovskite solar cells conducted by Sekisui Chemical and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (HD). 

The total project cost is estimated at about 18.3 billion yen ( just under USD$119,000,000), with approximately 12.5 billion yen (around USD$81 million) to be subsidized through the Green Innovation (GI) Fund project. The project will verify installation methods, construction methods, and mass production technologies that take advantage of the unique characteristics of perovskite solar cells.

It was reported that SolaEon Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of next-gen solar cells with a focus on perovskite-based PV, recently signed an investment contract with the local government of Xuzhou City, China, as one of fifty-six contracts signed at the 27th Xuzhou Trade and Investment Fair.

SolaEon plans to invest about 1.2 billion yuan (almost USD$170 million) in the perovskite solar cell production base in the High-Tech Zone. Upon completion of the production lines with an annual capacity of 200MW and 1GW of perovskite cells, the production value is expected to reach 2 billion yuan (approximately USD$283 million) per year.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) 2024 funding program provides $5.4 million for seedling R&D projects that focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) and are riskier than research ideas based on established technologies.

The 16 selected projects were recently announced, among them were 5 perovskite-related projects.

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has been selected to lead the United States Space Force University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute 3 (SSTI) research regarding advanced space power and propulsion, which is backed by $9.9 million in funding.

The research is in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and will enable game-changing space power and propulsion technology that will transition to the U.S. Department of Defense. The University of Michigan is also a lead institution for this research, which will include advancements in solar technology, thruster technology, and novel power approaches. As a center leader for the SSTI, RIT will work with other university partners to develop lower-cost, sustainable solar cells that can be used for power systems.