PXP Corporation
PXP Corporation is a Japanese green tech startup, based in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa, established in 2020.
PXP is focused on the R&D, manufacturing and sales of next-generation photoelectric conversion devices. It developed flexible solar cells based on perovskites and a type of chalcopyrite that enable lightweight, flexible, thin-film solar cells.
According to the company, the perovskite has superior performance for visible light, and chalcopyrite has superior performance for infrared light, so together they are the most efficient combination of materials in terms of the widest range of wavelengths, so high efficiency more than 30% can be expected from their tandem use.
PXP explains that chalcopyrite technology, which has already been applied to gigawatt-scale mass production and has been installed in various environments around the world, can be applied to perovskite to achieve high productivity and durability. The perovskite and chalcopyrite it uses are common materials, and they are only used in small amounts. No organic solvents are required. The energy used for production is less than half that of conventional solar panels, making it an environmentally friendly technology.
Contact information for PXP Corporation
5-4-21 Nishihashimoto
Sagamihara, Kanagawa
Japan
Japanese government selects Mitsubishi Electric and PXP Corporation to develop solar cells for space
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced it has been selected by Japan's space agency as a representative organization for the technology development titled “Development of Domestic Solar Cells, Cover Glass, and Solar Arrays”. The company has signed a contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) covering this development.
As part of this project, Mitsubishi Electric will develop low-cost, mass-producible solar cells in collaboration with domestic suppliers who have expertise in the solar cell field. In addition, the company will verify the applicability of glass used for ground-based products to the space environment and work toward the mass production of low-cost cover glass. Furthermore, Mitsubishi Electric will develop new solar arrays incorporating the new solar cells and cover glass, aiming to enable smoothly integrated domestic production of these. The company will help to strengthen the domestic satellite supply chain by reducing the cost of solar arrays and their components and strengthening supply capabilities.
PXP Corporation and Suntory test solar cells on vending machines
PXP Corporation, a Japanese startup developing chalcopyrite and perovskite solar technologies, and Suntory Holdings, a Japanese brewing company, have launched a one-year trial to test the performance and practicality of a vending machine equipped with PXP’s lightweight, glass-free solar panels at Asamizo Park in Sagamihara, Japan (where PXP is headquartered).
For this demonstration experiment, Suntory and PXP worked together with the help of Mitsubishi Corporation, which has expertise in decarbonization solutions, to install solar panels directly on the vending machine itself without any additional equipment. Furthermore, because the solar panels can be installed on all four sides of the vending machine - both sides, the back, and the top - it is expected that the amount of power generated will be greater than that of vending machines equipped with conventional solar panels. This marks the world's first attempt at using solar panels using chalcopyrite solar cells on a vending machine.
PXP raises close to USD$10 million in Series A funding with SoftBank as lead investor
Japan-based startup PXP Corporation, developer of lightweight and flexible solar cells, has raised a total of 1.5 billion yen (almost USD$10 million) in Series A funding, led by SoftBank Corp., with participation from SOLABLE Corporation, Kowa Optronics Co., Ltd., Toyota Tsusho Corporation, J&TC Frontier LLC (a joint investment vehicle between JFE Engineering Corporation and Tokyo Century Corporation), Automobile Fund Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi HC Capital Co., Ltd., Yokohama Capital Co., Ltd., and TARO Ventures. SoftBank has invested approximately 1 billion yen and acquired approximately 29.9% of PXP's shares.
The solar cell technology being developed by PXP has a tandem structure that combines perovskite solar cells and chalcopyrite solar cells, said to achieve more than 1.5 times the energy conversion efficiency (theoretical value: about 42%) of conventional solar cells. In addition, it is lightweight and flexible, weighing about one-tenth of conventional solar cells, and has high durability against shock and vibration. It can be installed in various locations depending on the application, and it is expected to reduce installation costs. PXP and SoftBank aim to use PXP's next-generation solar cells for various purposes, such as operating SoftBank's data center with green energy, in anticipation of future electricity demand.
