VITSOLC, the 11th spin-off company founded by researchers from the BIST Community centre ICFO, advances towards market solutions with transparent photovoltaic technology.
In March 2022, after ten years of intense research from the Organic Nanostructured Photovoltaics research group, led by Prof. Jordi Martorell, ICFO transferred its patented photovoltaic (PV) technology to its 11th spin-off company VITSOLC. In this unique transparent PV technology, visible light transmission can be largely decoupled from energy conversion. Since that time, members of the VITSOLC team have continued to work to improve the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the PV technology. Over the past months, they have received funding and new projects that will increase the marketability of their products.
ACCIÓ Start-up Capital grant
VITSOLC is one of 20 companies to receive funding in the 2023 call for ACCIÓ’s start-up capital grants. This programme provides up to €100k in direct support for emerging technology start-ups that need financing to carry out the initial phases of the business, develop their product or service, and validate the business model to reach the market. Beneficiaries of the first four calls have created 500 jobs. These same companies have gone on to secure 33.5M€ in private funding.
RETOS Public-Private Collaboration
VITSOLC and ICFO were recipients of a RETOS grant from the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the The State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) to carry out a joint R+D+I project titled “Transparent photovoltaic windows for the Electric Vehicle” (TEV).
Funding for this project was awarded within the 2021-2023 state programme to promote scientific-technical research and its transfer.
Neotec-CDTI
The Minsitry of Science and Innovation, within the plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience (Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia) financed the Neotec Projects to help launch new start-up businesses that which require the use of technologies or knowledge developed from research activity and in which the business strategy is based on the development of technology.
“VITSOLC is moving forward in our quest to develop and commercialize our transparent photovoltaic technology. The support we have received through these grants over the past year has been enormously helpful in achieving our goals and also to allow us to access additional private funding that is essential for our company’s growth”, asserts Oscar Aceves, VITSOLC’s Chairman of the Board. “We have a winning technology and are very optimistic about the advances we have made in just over two years since our constitution.”
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