Sharp, Enel, STMicro team up to breathe new life into thin-film solar

The future hasn’t been looking too bright for thin-film solar companies lately. Persistent high costs and low energy efficiencies have stymied a technology that was once meant to trump traditional crystalline solar panels.

Since the 2008 gold rush that fattened thin-film players like NanoSolar, Optisolar and Miasole, venture investing in the area has petered out, thin-film darling Solyndra nixed its IPO and aspiring solar powerhouse Applied Materials axed its thin-film operations, laying off 500 employees.