AN IRISH company has been awarded €1.2 million in European funding to develop its solar energy technologies further.

Nines Photovoltaics, based on the Institute of Technology Tallaght campus, has developed a new method for manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells, devices that convert sunlight into electricity.

With the production of solar cells consuming more than 25 billion litres of water last year alone, the technology developed by the company enables solar-cell producers to dramatically lower water consumption while also using chemicals that are less harmful to the environment than those currently available.

The company was awarded the funding under the competitive European Commission Framework Programme 7, one of the main financial tools through which the European Union supports research and development in science across the EU.

Describing the challenge his company’s technology tackles, chief executive Edward Duffy said: “From a cost and environmental perspective, the current solar-cell production process is unsustainable and limits the ability for solar PV to compete with traditional energy sources.”

The company’s new manufacturing process will lessen the heavy environmental footprint of solar cell production which, he says, is currently limiting the ability of the sector to grow.

Mr Duffy said the programme funding would enable Nines Photovoltaics to “collaborate with a consortium of European partners, research institutes and SMEs to further develop the technology and bring it to the global market”.

The company’s chief technology officer, Laurent Clochard, added: “This award is a superb endorsement of our technology by a panel of European experts.

“The solar industry is a relatively young industry and growing very fast. We are planning to export 100 per cent of our products and we hope to equip our first production lines in Q4 2012 with PV manufacturers based across the globe.”

Nines Photovoltaics has said it is currently going through a second round of funding in order to finance product development and drive market growth.

Welcoming the funding, John O’Dea, Enterprise Ireland manager of high-potential start-ups, said: “This is a very high tech company showing strong success. As the lead partner in this project, Nines Photovoltaics is working with leading international researchers and companies in a partnership that enhances the international standing of the company.”