AQT Solar has acquired $18.7 million in venture funding to deploy a second line of copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells, the company announced Thursday.

The Series B investment, which was more than the company received for its first round of funding, brings the total capital it has attracted to almost $40 million. This funding round follows a year of consistent progress and growth for AQT, it said.

The CIGS 2.0 technology line allows for continuous in-line production, simplifying and streamlining the manufacturing process. This process has resulted in the development, shipment and scaling of CIGS module product in just four years.

AQT anticipates that, by operating around the clock, its Sunnyvale site will have an installed solar capacity of more than 30 MW by mid-year. It hopes to have up to 180-W CIGS modules powered by AQT cells commercially available by year-end.
AQT Solar develops low-cost CIGS thin-film solar cells.

For more information, visit: www.aqtsolar.com