Nanosolar
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Nanosolar, Inc. was a San Jose, California-based developer of thin-film solar power technology, founded in 2002 by Martin Roscheisen and Brian Sager. It developed a low-cost printable solar-cell manufacturing process — printing copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) ink on foil — and began selling CIGS panels in December 2007, planning to sell at 99 cents per watt, far below the market. Valued at $2 billion in its heyday and backed by investors including Energy Capital Partners and Benchmark Capital, it raised more than $400 million in investment but ultimately produced less than 50 MW of capacity. It closed in 2013 (defunct).
02 / Nanosolar FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Nanosolar was crushed by the collapse of silicon solar prices. Its cost advantage evaporated as crystalline-silicon panel prices declined significantly, leaving its CIGS panels uncompetitive. By February 2013 it had laid off 75% of its workforce, and in August 2013 it auctioned off its San Jose equipment after selling its German factory to a Swiss investor. Co-founder Martin Roscheisen wrote that Nanosolar 'ultimately failed commercially', blaming the slow development cycle, complex production problems and cheap Chinese solar production — and said he would not enter the industry again.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Nanosolar was founded.
- Operations ended
Nanosolar ended operations.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Nanosolar raised more than $400 million in investment but produced less than 50 MW of capacity; it was once valued at $2 billion. No audited loss figure with disclosed subject, period and basis was extracted — the $400M+ is capital raised, not loss.