About 1366 - 1366 Tech

Building the Future of Energy

1366 Technologies provides customers with high-performance silicon wafers that both leverage their existing billion-dollar cell and module investments and enable a long-term, differentiated product roadmap. We believe that our technology has immense potential to change the world’s ability to access solar, and our vision for the future is one where solar energy displaces coal as the cheapest fuel source on the planet. We are convinced that this will happen before the end of the decade. 1366 Technologies will play an important role in getting us there.

Corporation Timeline

1366 Technologies has moved from proof of concept to commercial-ready technology,
achieving technical milestones steadily and rapidly.

2007

1366 is founded, raises its Series A financing and begins work on cast wafer process.

2009

The team develops Direct Wafer process and is subsequently named an ARPA-E awardee.

2010

1366 closes its Series B financing.

2012

1366 begins customer trials and is named a SunShot awardee.

2013

1366 opens its demonstration factory and achieves 17% average cell efficiencies. The team also secures Series C financing.

2014

The team reaches 18% cell efficiency

2015

The 1366 team installs a manufacturing hub consisting of three, production-ready machines and achieves 19.1% cell efficiency with partner Hanwha Q CELLS.

2016

1366 announces Hanwha Q CELLS will purchase 700 MW of wafers. The team also extends its Series C financing with a $10M investment from Hanwha Investment Corporation and a $15M investment from Wacker Chemie.

2017

Achieves 20.3% champion and 20.1% cell efficiency average with partner Hanwha Q CELLS. First commercial installation, a 500 kW array, begins operation in Japan.

2018

Achieves 20.5% cell efficiency average with Hanwha Q CELLS, named CERA/IHS Energy Innovation Pioneer, Named "Technology to Watch" by PV Magazine

2019

Closes $18M Series E and adds Breakthrough Energy Ventures to roster of investors

Direct Wafer Systems on Three Continents

A 192 module array on the GE campus in Schenectady, New York, features panels made with 1366's Direct Wafer® products.

The appeal of the Direct Wafer® process extends downstream, where customers seek advanced, high-quality systems with lower technology costs. Our highly efficient manufacturing process enables 30% faster energy payback for the modules and uses safe, earth abundant raw materials appropriate for addressing the world’s energy needs at a terawatt scale.

The Story Behind Our Name

The “1366” in 1366 Technologies refers to the solar constant or the amount of the sun’s energy that hits the earth’s atmosphere per square meter. It’s an impressive number and a constant reminder that the sun over our heads reliably provides all of the energy our planet currently needs.

Board of Directors

Carmichael Roberts

Carmichael is a successful entrepreneur-investor with experience building companies and commercializing university based technology in partnership with Fortune 500 companies.

In 2016, Carmichael founded Material Impact Fund, which seeks out novel materials and grows them into great products and enduring companies that solve real-world problems. Material Impact’s investments include Soft Robotics, Zero Mass Water and Amastan Technologies.

As a General Partner at North Bridge Venture Partners, Carmichael financed and built several successful companies that create innovative products by applying material science, including 1366 technologies, Foro Energy, and MC10. Prior to North Bridge, Carmichael co-founded several ventures and the non-profit Diagnostics For All, and served as President and CEO of Arsenal Medical.

Carmichael received his BS and PhD in organic chemistry from Duke University and completed his postdoctoral National Science Foundation fellowship at Harvard University. Carmichael also has an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Bob Metcalfe

Dr. Robert “Bob” Metcalfe is Professor of Innovation and Murchison Fellow of Free Enterprise in The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering. Dr. Metcalfe was an Internet pioneer at MIT starting in 1970 and in 1973 received his PhD from Harvard for Packet Communication. He invented Ethernet in 1973 and founded 3Com Corporation (now part of HP) in 1979.

Bob was also CEO of IDG’s InfoWorld Publishing Company (1992-1995). For eight years, he wrote an Internet column read weekly by 629,000 information technologists. He also wrote for The American Spectator, Forbes, Technology Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.

For nearly a decade, Bob was a venture capitalist at Polaris Partners, where he invested in early-stage technology companies.

Awards:

In 1980, Bob received the Hopper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
In 1988, he received the Bell Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
In 1995, Bob was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1996, he received the IEEE’s Medal of Honor.
In 1997, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1999, to the International Engineering Consortium.
In 2003, Bob received the Marconi Prize and was inducted into the prestigious Bay Shore High School Hall of Fame.
In a 2005 ceremony at the White House, Bob received the National Medal of Technology for his leadership in the invention, standardization, and commercialization of Ethernet.
Bob entered the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007.

Professor Yasheng Huang

Yasheng Huang is the International Program Professor in Chinese Economy and Business and a Professor of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also an Associate Dean at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Professor Huang founded and runs the China Lab and the India Lab, which aim to help entrepreneurs in those countries improve their management skills. He is an expert source on international business, political economy, and international management. Prior to MIT Sloan, he held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School. Huang also served as a consultant to the World Bank.

His research has been profiled in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal,The Economist, Businessworld, Le Monde, the Economic Times, as well as in numerous Chinese publications. He also has contributed to the Financial Times, The New York Times, and Foreign Policy.

In addition to academic journal articles, Professor Huang has published Inflation and Investment Controls in China (1996), FDI in China (1998), Selling China (2003, Chinese edition, 2005), Financial Reform in China (2005, co-edited with Tony Saich and Edward Steinfeld), and Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics (2008, Chinese edition, 2010). Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics is a detailed narrative account of history of economic reforms in China. It is based on detailed archival and quantitative evidence spanning three decades of reforms and was selected by the Economist magazine as one of the best books published in 2008.

Professor Huang holds a BA in government from Harvard College and a PhD in government from Harvard University.

Reidar Langmo

Reidar Langmo has more than a decade of clean energy expertise. He was one of the founders of both ScanWafer (1994) and REC (2000), which became one of the world’s leading solar companies.

Reidar held positions as chairman and CEO both in REC and its subsidiaries. He played a key role in connection with REC’s strategic acquisitions of ASiMI’s silicon plants both in 2002 and 2005. In 2006, REC had the most successful clean energy IPO to date with an $8B market cap.

Reidar holds an MSc from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Bill Burgess

Bill Burgess is a Partner with North Bridge Venture Partners. Previously he was Managing Partner of ABS Ventures. Bill has worked closely with emerging growth technology companies as an investor and adviser throughout his career. Prior to venture capital, Bill advised technology companies for two decades in matters of corporate finance and M&A primarily at Alex. Brown & Sons and subsequently at Deutsche Bank where he held several management positions including Vice Chairman of Global Corporate Finance and Head of DB Venture Partners.

Bill has deep experience on boards of public and private corporations as well as not-for-profit organizations. He currently serves as a board member of Actifio, Salsify and 1366 among for-profit corporations. In addition, Bill serves on the boards of the Appalachian Mountain Club, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (Treasurer), Dartmouth College (Vice Chair), Issue One (Executive Committee) and St. Mark’s School (Past Chair and current Campaign Chair). Bill chaired the board of The New England Aquarium for a decade through 2013. Leadership duties have included Finance, Advancement, Capital Campaign, Executive Search and Strategic Planning.

He holds a BA from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Frank van Mierlo

Frank van Mierlo is the CEO of 1366 Technologies, a solar technology company he started together with a team of engineers from RPI and MIT in 2008. The goal of 1366 Technologies is to make silicon based solar competitive with coal generated electricity.

Van Mierlo’s previous venture was Bluefin Robotics Corp., a company that enjoyed double digit growth and was always profitable under his leadership. Bluefin became the leading robotics company in its field and is known for its technical competence and a customer-centric approach. The company maintained a strong balance sheet, a healthy cash flow and a team of highly qualified engineers. In May 2005 the company was sold to Battelle.

He holds engineering degrees from MIT and Stanford and a business degree from Insead.

Bruce Sohn

Bruce Sohn is passionately committed to growing US manufacturing and reducing the adverse effects of energy on our global environment. He is currently a Principal at MEGE Associates where he is focused on addressing the unique needs of building manufacturing businesses in the greentech, electronics and energy products industries.

He was previously President of First Solar and served on the Company’s Board of Directors during the formative and growth years. During his tenure, annual corporate revenue grew to $3.5B and the company became the largest photovoltaic module manufacturer and builder of utility scale solar power plants in the world.

Bruce had been at Intel Corporation for 24 years. He played a leadership role in developing and manufacturing leading-edge semiconductor technology and was a primary developer of Copy Exactly! He served as an integral part of the start-up team at five Fabs, was program manager for Intel’s conversion to 300mm wafers and managed Intel’s two largest, multi-billion dollar Fabs.

Bruce is an engineering graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a certified Jonah and has been a guest lecturer at several universities including MIT, Stanford and Harvard. Tohoku University honored him with the designation of sensei for his semiconductor industry leadership.

Bruce chaired the US Commerce Department’s Manufacturing Council for the President of the USA and was a Clean Energy Ambassador to the WWF. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and a Senior Member of IEEE.