Rainier Client Coverage & Content

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SolarPower Europe: A stellar week of activities at Intersolar Europe 2024

A stellar week of activities at Intersolar Europe 2024

NexWafe showcased its innovative wafer technology at Intersolar Europe 2024, demonstrating a cost-effective, energy-efficient process to produce high-quality monocrystalline silicon wafers for the solar industry as covered by SolarPower Europe. 

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PV Tech: New products, innovations and projects: The smarter E Europe announces 2024 award winners

New products, innovations and projects: The smarter E Europe announces 2024 award winners

The smarter E Europe 2024 awards recognized innovative solar technologies and projects. Winners in the photovoltaics category NexWafe’s EpiNex wafers using energy-efficient production methods. These solutions exemplify advancements essential for a sustainable energy future.

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EU-Startups: Rays of innovation: 10 European startups shaping the future of solar power

Rays of innovation: 10 European startups shaping the future of solar power

EU-Startups highlights ten European startups that are revolutionizing the solar power industry. Companies like NexWafe are leading innovations in solar wafer manufacturing, driving the future of clean energy across Europe.

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Sifted: Germany’s 10 fastest-growing startup teams

Germany’s 10 fastest-growing startup teams

Sifted's 10 fastest growing German startups includes NexWafe. Based in Freiburg, the company expanded its team by 85%, focusing on ultra-thin, sustainable solar wafers. 

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PV Tech: Carbon reduction in solar panel production

Carbon reduction in solar panel production

In his latest PV Tech article, NexWafe CEO Davor Sutija expands on his insightful series, discussing how reshoring vital manufacturing stages in the solar supply chain must align with environmental priorities.

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Forbes: Creating A Greener Future In Photovoltaic Manufacturing

Creating A Greener Future In Photovoltaic Manufacturing

In a Forbes Business Council post, NexWafe CEO Davor Sutija shares transformative insights on revolutionizing photovoltaic manufacturing. Key highlights include policy-driven growth, tackling carbon debt, setting new standards and making informed choices.

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PV Tech: Europe’s solar sector: navigating geopolitical challenges and technological innovations

Europe’s solar sector: navigating geopolitical challenges and technological innovations

In a guest blog, CEO Davor Sutija notes that as the world shifts towards renewable energy, the European solar sector finds itself in a transformative era. It’s a time marked by rapid technological progress and significant economic shifts, presenting both challenges and opportunities. This landscape is where innovation thrives, strategic collaborations form and new policy directions take shape. Together, these pivotal moments contribute to Europe’s energy transition.

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Solar Builder: ‘Greener’ solar wafer production coming to the United States

‘Greener’ solar wafer production coming to the United States

NexWafe is a solar tech company we’ve had our eye on. The German company promotes the 'greener' production of solar PV wafers via its EpiNex manufacturing solution that simplifies polysilicon production and reduces energy use. Seeing the opportunities inherent in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the growing solar PV manufacturing base in the United States, NexWafe is establishing a U.S. subsidiary to evaluate the development of multi-gigawatt-scale solar wafer production.

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C&EN: Firms plan US solar wafer production

Firms plan US solar wafer production

Nearly a decade after US production of silicon wafers for solar panels ceased, several companies have announced plans to revive wafer manufacturing in the country. Some hope new technologies will reduce the US solar industry’s reliance on China. In January, NexWafe announced it may build a 6 GW wafer plant in the US.

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Bloomberg: German Solar Start-Up Expands in US to Challenge China Dominance

German Solar Start-Up Expands in US to Challenge China Dominance

German solar wafer start-up NexWafe GmbH is expanding to the US in an effort to counter China's dominance in the market.

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PV Tech: Charting Europe’s path in solar manufacturing: A perspective on the Green Deal

Charting Europe’s path in solar manufacturing: A perspective on the Green Deal

In a guest blog, NexWafe CEO Davor Sutija discusses solar manufacturing in Europe, the European Green Deal and the multi-faceted strategy that Europe must take to reach 2050 goals.

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pv magazine: NexWafe secures funding to build wafer factory in Germany

NexWafe secures funding to build wafer factory in Germany

German wafer manufacturer NexWafe GmbH announced it secured financing of €30 million ($32.0 million) from current and new investors. The company said it will use the funds to move forward with the construction of its planned wafer factory in Bitterfeld, in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

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PV Tech: NexWafe secures US$32 million to build wafer plant in Germany

NexWafe secures US$32 million to build wafer plant in Germany

Solar wafer producer NexWafe has secured a €30 million (US$32 million) investment to accelerate the construction of its first commercial-scale wafer plant in Bitterfeld, Germany.

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NexWafe LinkedIn Article: Rebalancing the Global Supply Chain for Photovoltaics

NexWafe LinkedIn Article: Rebalancing the Global Supply Chain for Photovoltaics

NexWafe’s development of green solar wafers can help achieve 2050 net-zero energy goals. With a high throughput, low-cost epitaxy process that avoids the energy-intensive steps of conventional wafer manufacturing, NexWafe’s EpiNex™ wafers promise to set a new standard for the solar industry. Our ultra-thin, revolutionary solar cell technologies introduce meaningful and much-needed change to the solar supply chain, expanding the reach of solar energy and leveling the net-zero renewable-energy playing field for all countries.

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Forbes Business Council: As America Works To Re-Shore The Solar Industry, Sustainability Should Be Top Of Mind

As America Works To Re-Shore The Solar Industry, Sustainability Should Be Top Of Mind

With the advent of the United States’ first-ever clean energy industrial policy, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the U.S. solar industry is at a pivotal point in history. As the CEO of NexWafe, a Germany-based company, that designs, develops and pilots a green solar wafer production process to help make the photovoltaics industry more sustainable and efficient, we are happy to see the U.S. taking this step. Davor Sutija shares insights for U.S. manufacturers who already are or may be considering becoming involved in the industry.

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PV Tech: The time is perfect for a revolution in photovoltaics

The time is perfect for a revolution in photovoltaics

NexWafe CEO Davor Sutija discusses the state of the photovoltaics industry in this PV Tech contributed blog. 

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PV Tech: ‘A good first step’: European solar manufacturers welcome Green Deal Industrial Plan but call for more support

‘A good first step’: European solar manufacturers welcome Green Deal Industrial Plan but call for more support

The European Commission unveiled the EU’s response to the Inflation Reduction Act and China’s dominance in the solar supply chain with the Green Deal Industrial Plan. PV Tech addresses how these solar initiatives compare and captures commentary from manufacturers across the value chain. NexWafe CEO offers his insights into what needed to establish a long-term solar manufacturing industry in Europe. 

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PV Tech: Onshoring solar’s supply chain

Onshoring solar’s supply chain

With China strengthening its position in recent years to dominate the PV supply chain, efforts are gathering pace to onshore some manufacturing  as governments aim to support domestic production and reduce their reliance on imports. NexWafe's partnership with Reliance is contributing to these efforts by building gigawatt-scale facilities in India using NexWafe's wafer manufacturing technology.

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North American Clean Energy: American Solar Accelerates Path to Energy Independence for North Carolina Homeowners

American Solar Accelerates Path to Energy Independence for North Carolina Homeowners

American Solar helps North Carolina accelerate the pace of the state’s residential solar energy installations and, in 2022, plans to add approximately 5 megawatts of installed solar capacity, enough to power more than 600 residential homes.

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PV Magazine: Reliance Industries to invest $29 million in NexWafe

Reliance Industries to invest $29 million in NexWafe

Reliance New Energy Solar (RNES) has invested US$29 million in German wafer technology company NexWafe’s Series C financing round as it looks to establish wafer production facilities in India.

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PV Tech: Reliance invests US$29m in NexWafe, looks to establish ‘giga-scale’ wafer production in India

Reliance invests US$29m in NexWafe, looks to establish ‘giga-scale’ wafer production in India

Reliance New Energy Solar (RNES) has invested US$29 million in German wafer technology company NexWafe’s Series C financing round as it looks to establish wafer production facilities in India.

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Quartz: Ambani’s new energy business is on an investment spree to create Jio-like success

Ambani’s new energy business is on an investment spree to create Jio-like success

From two $1.14 billion acquisitions announced a few days ago to two more big-ticket deals in the past few hours, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) has been on an investment spree. Today (Oct. 13), the company formed in June, announced a $45 million investment in German firm Nexwafe.

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Bloomberg: Asia’s Richest Man Boosts Green Energy Push With Two More Deals

Asia’s Richest Man Boosts Green Energy Push With Two More Deals

Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd. agreed to invest NexWafe GmbH for 25 million euros ($28.8 million), the Indian group told the exchanges late Tuesday.

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Solar Builder: Consider the Source, Part 2: Factoring in embodied carbon

Consider the Source, Part 2: Factoring in embodied carbon

One contender looking to reduce the carbon footprint of wafers is NexWafe. Spun out from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in 2015, NexWafe’s Green Silicon EpiNex silicon wafers production eliminates intermediate steps and avoids mechanical machining from ingots.

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PV-Tech: NexWafe raises €10 million in a new Series B round of funding

NexWafe raises €10 million in a new Series B round of funding

Fraunhofer ISE spin-off NexWafe has raised €10 million in a new Series B round of funding as the company moves to another pilot production phase.

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SparkSpread: Energy Outlook: US Battery Financing Nears Watershed Moment

Energy Outlook: US Battery Financing Nears Watershed Moment

“We see tenfold interest in commercial storage than what we saw the year before," says Lior Handelsman, founder of SolarEdge Technologies, a listed energy storage and solar company. This growth is being driven by increasing electricity prices and grid instability. So, commercial business owners who are looking to improve their bottom lines are doing so by generating and storing their own energy.”

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Forbes: Inverters: The Unsung Hero Of The Global Emerging Energy Economy

Inverters: The Unsung Hero Of The Global Emerging Energy Economy

To better understand the role of the inverter and how it adds value to the equation, I lined up a conversation with Lior Handelsman, VP of Marketing and Product Strategy and Co-Founder of Israeli-based inverter company SolarEdge. SolarEdge is one of the leading inverter companies in the world, with close to $940 million in 2018 revenues, and over 1.5 million inverters and 40 million power optimizers across 130 countries, so Handelsman knows a thing or two about inverters.

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USA Today: Here's what you need to know about the California power outages

Here's what you need to know about the California power outages

Major utilities were cutting power to millions of Californians due to predicted high winds that could down power lines and spark wildfires. Here's what you need to know. Though utilities have warned for months that preemptive cutoffs were a possibility, the outages appeared to be catching many consumers by surprise. While many Florida and East Coast residents have long learned to cope with power outages from hurricanes, weather-related outages could be considered a new phenomenon in the Golden State.

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Smart Cities Dive: Cleveland, OH announces smart streetlight overhaul

Cleveland, OH announces smart streetlight overhaul

As part of a campaign to replace 61,000 streetlights with more energy-efficient LED bulbs, the City of Cleveland, OH will adopt a wireless network to convert its streetlights into a smart network. The T-Light Galaxy Network from ST Engineering Telematics Wireless is an end-to-end solution that will allow city officials to set different light intensities for neighborhoods or individual lights in real time, preprogram schedules for special events and get maintenance alerts. 

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Enterprise IOT Insights: Cleveland upgrades and connects entire streetlight network in just three days

Cleveland upgrades and connects entire streetlight network in just three days

The city of Cleveland, in Ohio, has upgraded its network of 61,000 streetlights with connected LED lights. The work, which took just three business days, has also included installation of 1,000 cameras on the lighting infrastructure. These will be operated by the Cleveland Police Department. Further smart city applications will be hung off the lighting network, the city said.

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Fierce Electronics: Cleveland getting 61k LED streetlights with network control

Cleveland getting 61k LED streetlights with network control

The city of Cleveland has deployed a control network for the city’s 61,000 streetlights that serve 400,000 residents and businesses. ST Engineering Telematics Wireless provided the T-Light Galaxy communications infrastructure for the streetlights in only three business days over FCC licensed frequencies. Cleveland Public Power is the city-owned utility behind the project.

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StateScoop: Cleveland launches citywide network to control cameras, streetlights

Cleveland launches citywide network to control cameras, streetlights

To prepare for an influx of internet-connected devices, officials in Cleveland introduced a $35 million communications system on Monday that will connect thousands of police cameras and streetlights to a network that can be controlled by public safety officials at any time. The city installed the network through Singapore Technologies’ Telematics Wireless, a connected-device and software manufacturer that has already installed three “gateways,” or network control stations, across the city.

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Tech Republic: Cleveland's smart streetlights project builds smart city backbone

Cleveland's smart streetlights project builds smart city backbone

The streets of Cleveland, Ohio are going to be a whole lot smarter when city leaders flip the switch on Smart, Safe CLE. Cleveland and ST Engineering Telematics Wireless are working on a plan to convert the city's 61,000 street lights into a smart network.

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CFO Thought Leader: Delivering on Solar's Promise

Delivering on Solar's Promise - Podcast

As Ronen Faier recalls the career-building ups-and-downs of being an entrepreneurial CFO, few memories appear to be more vivid than that of a meeting with Guy Sella, a seasoned Israeli entrepreneur, who invited Faier to lead the finance team of his solar start-up. Not yet a midsize firm, SolarEdge Technologies had only about $9 million in annual sales, with roughly 100 employees, when Faier received Sella’s invitation.