ABSTRACT
Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization (PVIC) was funded to strengthen the photovoltaics research and manufacturing base. Activities aim to eliminate market barriers faced by companies in the photovoltaics sector. Companies active in the photovoltaics industry, from those researching advanced materials development to those installing energy producing devices, advise and coordinate PVIC members. For maximum impact on increasing production efficiency and lowering costs, PVIC takes a vertically integrated approach from research in advanced materials to the fabrication of production-scale modules, to issues related to installation, and finally to aspects of customer acceptance. Collaborators in PVIC possess knowledge of how to overcome real-life problems arising in connecting a module to the electric grid and how to obtain customer support for building integrated PV designs. Companies along the entire value chain have been brought into PVIC.
