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How It Works | Why Invest in Nava Solar? | About | Contact Us |
NAVA Solar, L.L.C., incorporated in September 2011 in the state of Michigan, hopes to commercialize revolutionary solar technology invented by its Founder and C.E.O., Suneel Joglekar. He discovered an inexpensive roll-to-roll process to make low-cost, high-efficiency photovoltaic cells that are long-lasting and do not experience heat-related or operational performance degradation.
NAVA Solar is currently seeking capital for pilot production and protection of Joglekar's process. The pilot production would be based in or around Ann Arbor, Michigan, with future expansion to profitable production in Detroit. The technology has a proven efficiency of over twelve percent, and with the implementation of new equipment, could be increased to over sixteen percent. With this efficiency, NAVA Solar's sales price will decrease below one dollar per watt.
In addition to price, NAVA Solar's technology provides several advantages over competitors. A comparative advantage chart is shown below:
| Features | Leading Silicon Solar Mfg. | Leading Cadmium Telluride Mfg. | Leading Current CIGS Mfg. |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cell Technology | Crystalline-Si | CdTe | CIGS | CIGS |
| Non-Toxic |  |
X | |
|
| Thin Film | X | |
|
|
| Low-Cost | X | |
X | |
| Efficiency > 10% | |
|
X | |
| Flexible | X | X | |
|
| Eff. After 20 Yrs. |  |
|
= (Claimed) |
 13% |
| Heat Resistance | X | X | X | |
NAVA Solar's technology can operate in hot climates. While traditional silicon based solar panels show an output decrease of almost 40% at operating temperatures of over 40° C, NAVA's technology showed no performance loss even at 100° C.
NAVA Solar panels will also last much longer than conventional panels. While conventional panels experience operational degradation with an efficiency loss of at least 0.8% per year, NAVA Solar's technology actually experiences an efficiency increase of 0.5% per year. That means that after 30 years, the efficiency will increase by 15%, from 12% to over 13.8%.
First Solar, a former leader in the photovoltaic market in terms of sales, projected the size of the solar panel market at estimated 12 GW per year in 2012. NAVA understands that this could be much larger in the future, provided that the panels can be leveraged as being able to provide a stable, secure, and long-term source of clean energy. The majority of developing countries have crushing generation defecits: they are not able to generate enough electricity to meet current market demand.
Add the fact that these countries have high economic growth rates and old, outdated grid infrastructure, the situation in these countries is very unreliable electricity available for only a few hours out of the day. NAVA Solar has been able to convince utilities in developing nations that the technology can mitigate the unreliability of electricity, at a cost similar to if not lower than fossil fuel based generation.
Despite the early stage of the company, NAVA Solar has negotiated Letters of Intent and Power Purchase Agreements with several clients. The largest Power Purchase Agreement was for an independent utility corporation located in Nigeria that seeks to electrify rural villages and provide reliable power for small businesses in West Africa. The size of this PPA is over one gigawatt. NAVA Solar's other signed clients include:
NAVA Solar's mission is to be an all-around green company committed to humanitarian efforts. In fact, our goal is to empower people around the world through the use of clean renewable energy. As you can see from some of our signed clients, NAVA is targeting humanitarian projects that better the lives of those without current access to reliable electricity.
NAVA Solar seeks to raise money for three stages of development. The first stage will re-establish the technology on different substrate materials to allow for easier manufacturing processes at large-scale production. This will also protect the technology. For this stage, NAVA Solar is seeking to raise $150,000.00 USD.
After this stage, NAVA Solar will build a pilot facility located near Ann Arbor, MI. This stage will cost approximately $10 million USD to build a small-scale assembly line for the solar panels and hire experienced engineers and technicians to design, build, and operate the line. After the pilot line, NAVA Solar will begin selling finished panels to its first clients, which itself will be profitable three years after construction.
After the successful operation of the pilot line, NAVA Solar will begin constructing a full-scale production facility in Detroit, MI. This will bring at least 300 high-paying skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs to the area and allow NAVA Solar to fulfill its first large contract for West Africa. Over 2,000 jobs will be created in West Africa to provide for the installation and maintenance of this system.
In addition to seeking funding, NAVA Solar is also seeking mentorship and guidance. Being an early-stage startup with young part-owners, NAVA Solar is seeking the advice of more experienced professionals in how to develop the company.
NAVA Solar is also looking for free or discounted materials and lab facilities. To reduce costs (and therefore the amount of early-stage high-risk investment), NAVA Solar would like to collaborate with an existing lab facility to reduce the costs of the critical first stage.
If you can help in these ways, please e-mail suneel@navasolar.us to contribute to our success.