Ottawa, Ontario-based Cyrium Technologies, Inc. (Cyrium) has announced that it has contributed its QDEC line of concentrating solar cells to a 200 kW solar project in China.  Ontario is home to a thriving green energy industry that includes the world’s largest photovoltaic installation and Canada’s first ISPQ-certified solar training institution, Ontario Solar Academy.

The Cyrium team began their green careers at National Research Council facilities in Ottawa before moving into its current headquarters in Kanata, a suburb of the capital.  Last year, the company had an opportunity to apply its technology domestically when it contributed content to solar research conducted by the University of Ottawa’s SUNRISE project.

Cyrium has tried for more than a year to break into the Chinese market.  This latest installation is owned and operated by Qingdao HG Solar Energy Co., Ltd. and uses modules and sun-tracking racking systems produced by China’ Suntrix Co., Ltd. (Suntrix).  The high-concentrating photovoltaic (HCPV) power station uses Cyrium’s triple junction concentrating photovoltaic cells, which have helped break new ground in efficiency.  ”The plant is operating with a system efficiency of 25%,” says Suntrix’s CEO, Guy Rong, “which means this station is not only the highest scale of HCPV in production, but also the highest efficiency for photo-electric conversion in China.”

Company’s Home Province a Leader in Green Energy, Green Career Training

The solar industry in Cyrium’s home province has achieved a lot in the little more than a year since Ontario adopted a feed-in tariff (FIT) program that pays owners of solar, wind, and biomass projects to feed green energy into the power grid.  The program drives up demand for green technology, creating career opportunities and new educational streams like solar certification programs.  It also includes domestic content provisions that require participating parties to certify that up to 60% of the labour and materials they use in their projects originate in Ontario.  The purpose of this provision is to ensure that the money and careers the FIT creates benefit the province.

Groundbreaking green technologies like Cyrium’s CPV cells are in high demand in an industry that continually strives for greater levels of efficiency.  Based in a market fuelled by a powerful FIT program, Cyrium is well-placed to become a world leader in solar cell technology.