Manufacturability of Low-Cost InGaAs Thermophotovoltaic Devices
Antora Energy, Inc.
Recipient
Sunnyvale, CA
Recipient Location
10th
Senate District
26th
Assembly District
Active
Project Status
Project Update
In 2024 Antora achieved signiant progress towards the project goals. Antora instituted a modification to the back metal stack which has yielded faster and more consistent lift off times of the TPV devices, providing confidence that repeatable overnight lift off is possible. Additionally, four modules were built for use in a pilot-scale thermal energy system. This successful demonstration gives Antora enough confidence in our process to move ahead with tool purchases for screen printing, paste characterization, and die sorting, which are expected for delivery in early 2025. Antora also continues to conduct process development for the eventual integration of these new pieces of equipment, as well as finalizing TPV Module design failure modes effects analysis.
The Issue
In Antora Energy’s CEC RAMP project, a capability for the front-side process steps for thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cell manufacturing was demonstrated, a vital step in building the TPV supply chain in order to enable direct conversion of stored heat to electricity for long-duration energy storage (LDES). However, the manufacturing costs are projected to still be too expensive for widespread deployment of this approach to LDES, without additional innovation in bringing down the costs of cell and module manufacturing.
Project Innovation
This project will fund significant manufacturing process improvements to the Recipient's innovative thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells. The recipient has developed a thermal battery capable of providing reliable, on-demand heat and power for industry. The Recipient’s thermal battery is composed of low-cost, commercial-off-the-shelf components—except for the TPV cell, which is manufactured using an expensive indium phosphide (InP) semiconductor substrate that dominates the overall system cost. This project will develop and demonstrate a reproducible substrate separation process for low-cost indium gallium arsenide TPV devices, and also demonstrate a scalable process for module assembly by interconnecting the TPV devices. These innovations can lead to significant cost reductions for the TPV devices and the overall thermal battery system.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
Antora's thermal energy storage system can be used as a flexible source of zero-emission heat or power, which can be used for industrial decarbonization or grid storage applications. If successful, this project will unlock a 1.1 gigatons CO2/year reduction in the US by 2045, and support California-based manufacturing.
Reliability
Lowering the cost of manufacturing TPVs will support more cost-effective deployment of Antora's thermal energy storage system. When paired with variable renewable energy sources, Antora's storage system can provide flexible zero-emission power.
Affordability
Developing repeatable epitaxial liftoff of the TPV devices will significantly reduce the cost of the overall TPV system, which can dramatically reduce the cost of Antora's thermal energy storage battery
Key Project Members
Brendan Kayes
Match Partners
Antora Energy, Inc.
