Photara

Photara develops and manufactures industrial equipment and consumable products designed to replace silver with abundant base metals like copper and aluminum in the production of silicon solar cells. The company's primary clients are solar cell manufacturers, and its technology aims to lower solar module costs by over 10% and remove the reliance on silver, the only critical material in the solar supply chain. Photara's business model involves working directly with these manufacturers to integrate its metallization tools and consumables into their existing production lines.

The company was founded in 2022 by Dr. Brian Hardin and Dr. Max L'Etoile. It originated as 'Aluminio' through a Breakthrough Energy Fellowship, which supports innovators developing climate technologies with the potential to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The fellowship provided initial funding and support to develop a new approach for replacing over 90% of the silver in solar cells with aluminum. The founders, who include material scientists, roboticists, and physicists, rebranded the company to Photara to better reflect its focus on the solar industry. In 2024, the company secured an $8 million seed financing round to further advance its technology and commercialization efforts.

Photara’s core offering consists of specialized aluminum foils and a high-speed, high-precision application process. This system is designed not only to reduce material costs but also to increase the output of existing manufacturing lines. By substituting scarce and expensive silver with low-cost, abundant aluminum, the technology addresses key industry challenges related to cost and supply chain security, accelerating the scalability of clean energy technologies.

Keywords: solar cell metallization, silver replacement, base metals, photovoltaics, silicon solar cells, solar module cost reduction, clean technology, renewable energy manufacturing, solar supply chain, critical materials reduction, aluminum foil technology, copper paste, breakthrough energy, solar manufacturing equipment, PERC solar cells, TOPCon solar cells, heterojunction solar cells, sustainable manufacturing, cleantech, energy materials