Nanosolar

Founded in 2002 by two former Stanford PhD candidates, Nanosolar produces solar energy technologies that look to create greater efficiency by increasing yield and throughput of solar cells. The company has operations in both San Jose, CA and Germany, and has a portfolio of over 180 patents in development. In addition to funding raised through venture capital, Nanosolar was also awarded a $20 million grant by the US Department of Energy in September 2007 in part to work on a project to enable their solar panel technologies to carpet the tops of commercial building rooftops. This amount was the most given to any company as part of the Solar America Initiative that is within the Presidents Advanced Energy Initiative.