Rochester, N.Y. – Natcore Technologies moved into Building 308 at Kodak’s Eastman Business Park with much fanfare back in February 2011. The company said it had the potential to create an astounding 2,000 to 4,000 jobs.
“I am so excited because I see a new Kodak. I see a new Rochester,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter, who said she was seeking $8 million in federal funding to aid the startup.
Natcore believes it has cutting-edge solar cell technology.
“Energy doesn’t work unless you have government subsidies,” said CEO Charles Provini. “In order to make it work, you have to do two things. You have to double the efficiency or cut the cost in half. We have two different technologies that we think will do each of those.”
Natcore also has a third technology, the entire reason it moved to Building 308, home to a film coating machine. Natcore believes that machine is a great fit to develop its “roll-to-roll” solar cell. Natcore signed a joint development agreement with Kodak.
A year later, Natcore has only 10 employees. It’s building a research and development lab at Building 308 that will eventually employ 50 people.
But there’s little prospect for a local factory. The problem is federal funding never materialized.
“We’re still looking for funding. The government didn’t work out as far as funding it. We’re having other sources, other countries come in and take a look at it,” said Provini.
That means those thousands of factory jobs could go overseas. Provini said Natcore is ready to start actually making solar cells and has agreements with Chinese and Italian investors. He’s trying to convince investors to allow the solar cells to be made in the U.S. He’s looking at an old IBM factory in Albany, New York to make black silicone solar cells.
The potential for a Rochester factory is still there – for the “roll-to-roll” solar cells. But Natcore needs the money.
How much funding are we talking about?
“We need, for the roll to roll facility, we need roughly $20 million,” Provini said. “The people we work with, our partners in Italy and in China, they’re willing to fund it but they don’t want to fund it here.”
Provini would like Kodak to invest, but the company is in bankruptcy. He’s also still seeking government funding.
“If Kodak could take $15 million dollars…and continue with our joint development agreement, we could develop that roll to roll technology that would reinvent Kodak,” said Provini. “And it would give the world something that it needs, a cheap efficient solar cell.”
