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Article: Venture capitalists like it clean
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- April 24, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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MARTIN ROSCHEISEN, CEO of Nanosolar Inc., holds up a plastic vial
filled with dark, purple liquid -- the secret ingredient behind a new
kind of technology startup that's turning heads in Silicon Valley.
In a private laboratory here, Nanosolar scientists are designing
low-cost solar electricity cells that Roscheisen submits will make
solar power competitive with conventional energy sources.
The purple liquid is a nano-engineered material that "self-
assembles" into tiny solar cells that convert sunlight into
electricity.
"We're at the threshold of making solar electricity profitable,"
says Roscheisen, whose firm raised $6.5 million last year from U.S.
Venture Partners, Benchmark Capital and ...