Advancing U.S. Solar Innovation in Aerospace, Defense and Remote Environments: A New High-Performance Manufacturing Method from NREL

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Advancing U.S. Solar Innovation in Aerospace, Defense and Remote Environments: A New High-Performance Manufacturing Method from NREL

Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT

 đź”— [Register Now]

Join us for a National Lab Discovery Series webinar highlighting a novel manufacturing process from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that reduces the cost and increases the scalability of high efficiency III-V solar cells.

Named “dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy,” or D-HVPE, this process is especially promising for high-performance solar applications—such as high-altitude drones, space-based power systems, and remote or off-grid energy platforms—where efficiency, reliability, and lightweight materials are essential.

What You’ll Learn

  • How this method addresses scalability challenges that limit market penetration of the III-V devices
  • How it applies to high-performance solar use cases in aerospace, defense, and remote environments
  • Licensing opportunities and potential use in advanced energy system design
  • Live Q&A with NREL scientists

This Webinar Is Ideal For

  • Companies seeking to strengthen U.S. manufacturing capability in high-efficiency solar and energy devices
  • Aerospace and defense contractors exploring lightweight power solutions
  • Developers of solar-powered UAVs, satellites, or remote installations
  • Materials engineers and solar device designers

About the Technology

D-HVPE is an epitaxial growth technique with the potential to drastically increase the throughput of III-V devices. III-V devices are currently used in space to power satellites, but emerging applications require more devices with lower costs to power ever growing constellations. Incumbent III-V epitaxy processes are batch processes that use complex reagents, while D-HVPE can make the same devices with the same quality, but at significantly higher growth rates using cheaper reactants. These high growth rates enable the advancement of III-V device manufacturing from a batch process to a continuous inline process, which would be a game changer for this industry.

The technology is well-suited for manufacturing high-performance, precision solar cells for applications where efficiency, specific power, and manageable costs are critical.

Join us to learn how this NREL innovation supports the next generation of solar-powered systems in the most demanding environments—while creating new opportunities for U.S. manufacturing leadership.