October 27, 2009
Sencera Completes Thin-Film Installation at Winery-- Takes Thin-Film from Concept to Cost-Efficient Solution.

Charlotte, NC— Sencera, a manufacturer of thin-film solar panels, has completed a major installation at a North Carolina vineyard, allowing that business to harness the power of the sun at a fraction of the cost of traditional solar panels.

March 17, 2009
Sencera Demonstrates 8.7% Efficient Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cell – Completes $15.6 Million Equity Funding Round

Charlotte, North Carolina. Sencera, a manufacturer of thin film silicon based photovoltaic modules, has successfully deposited single-junction silicon solar cells with an initial 8.7% sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency under standard test conditions. As a result, the Company has secured the final $5.2 million of a $15.6 million investment from the California based lead investor Quercus Trust.

December 12, 2008
Sencera Targets Next Technology Milestone to Expand Production

Solar-panel maker shows gains in efficiency but still needs funding for growth.....

December 02, 2008
Sencera Demonstrates 7% Efficient Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells – Receives Additional $5.2 Million Equity Investment

Charlotte, North Carolina. Sencera, a developer of photovoltaic modules and thin film solar panel systems, has successfully deposited single-junction silicon solar cells with 7% sunlight to electricity conversion efficiencies under standard test conditions. The Company achieved the result utilizing a repeatable, fully automated process on The Viper™, its proprietary Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) manufacturing platform. Cell performance was independently measured and confirmed by The University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion, designated a University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education by the Department of Energy and The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

September 25, 2008
Sencera Completes $ 15.6 Million Second Round Staged Equity Placement

Charlotte, North Carolina. Sencera, a developer of photovoltaic modules and thin film systems, announced completion of a three-stage $15.6 million equity investment. Under the terms of the transaction, the company has received $5.2 million in equity. The remaining investment is to be completed in two equal stages of $5.2 million based upon completion of development milestones. Proceeds will be utilized to fund the Company’s first 35-Megawatt photovoltaic module factory located in Charlotte, NC.

September 15, 2008
North Carolina Lt. Governor Bev Perdue Visits Sencera

Charlotte, NC. Lt. Governor Bev Perdue visited Sencera International Corporation’s headquarter office and development facility in Charlotte on September 15, 2008. The purpose of the visit was to consult with Sencera’s Management team regarding North Carolina’s emerging solar industry and the related job growth in North Carolina.

July 07, 2008
Sencera to build 35 Megawatt Solar Module Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina

Sencera International Corporation, a manufacturer of thin film solar (photovoltaic) modules is expanding in Charlotte. The company plans to invest $36.8 million and create 65 jobs during the next three years. It was made possible in part by a $62,000 One North Carolina Fund grant as well as local incentives from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

July 07, 2008
Gov. Easley Announces Sencera International To Add 65 Jobs In Charlotte

RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Sencera International Corp., which develops, manufactures and distributes thin-film solar panels, is expanding in Mecklenburg County. The company plans to invest $36.8 million to build a solar module factory, creating 65 jobs during the next three years. The project was made possible in part by a $62,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.

July 01, 2008
Sencera Awarded NC Green Business Fund Grant for $100,000

Charlotte based solar panel manufacturer Sencera was one of 13 companies awarded a grant from the North Carolina Green Business fund. 85 firms applied to the fund. Sencera was awarded the maximum grant of $100,000.

June 13, 2008
Sencera Enters into a Separation Agreement with XsunX

On Friday June 13, 2008, Sencera and XsunX entered into a Separation Agreement. Sencera and XsunX (The Parties) had signed a technology development agreement in January 2007. Under its terms, XsunX provided a $1.5 million loan to Sencera in order to fund a phased thin film photovoltaic development plan. In return, Sencera was to provide limited licensing rights to plasma deposition technologies for XsunX's use in specific future manufacturing processes.

June 02, 2008
Sencera CEO to Speak at NYC Green Technology Event

Sencera, a photovoltaic thin film module and systems developer, announced today that its CEO, Dr. Russell Jewett, will speak at the fourth annual Cleantech Companies in Mainstream Markets event on June 11th in New York City.

May 30, 2008
Sencera eyes new plant in Charlotte

Solar-energy startup Sencera International Corp. is looking for city and country incentives totaling $1.04 million to establish a $35 million panel-manufacturing plant in Charlotte.

May 23, 2008
Sencera CEO Profiled in Charlotte Business Journal

Entrepreneurs talk about what they do and why they do it.....

April 18, 2008
New investment heating up Sencera growth plan

Solar startup Sencera has gotten $3.6 million from a leading alternative-energy investor and expects $16 ,illion in additional funding this summer.

April 15, 2008
Sencera raises $3.6 Million to Build 1 Megawatt PV Manufacturing Platform

Charlotte, North Carolina. Sencera, a photovoltaic thin film module and systems developer, announced today that it has secured a $3.6 million equity investment. Funds will be used to accelerate increases in cell efficiency and to complete process integration of the Viper™ manufacturing platform. This process is projected to manufacture solar modules at a cost less than $1 per watt. The investment is led by The Quercus Trust. “The Quercus Trust has a long history of investing in the renewable energy sector,” stated Sencera CEO, Dr. Rusty Jewett. “We feel privileged to be part of their portfolio.”

April 04, 2007
Sencera Ships new TPS-3000 Atmospheric Plasma System

Sencera, a Charlotte, NC based company focused on the development, production and sale of high performance plasma sources, photovoltaic (solar energy) manufacturing tools, and thin film solar cells announced the product launch of the TPS-3000 Atmospheric Plasma System.

April 01, 2007
Sencera ships first its first Viper™ Platform

Sencera, a Charlotte, NC based company focused on the development, production and sale of high performance plasma sources, photovoltaic (solar energy) manufacturing tools, and thin film solar cells announced the first shipment of the Viper™ Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and Etching platform. The fully automated Viper™ is a modular platform operated form a distributed control system. Users benefit from gas utilization in excess of 70% and increased deposition rates for a wide variety of films. The robust Viper™ platform can perform as an individual chamber, or be combined with additional Viper™’s for greater throughput. The platform features an integrated power source and handles both batch and roll to roll processes.

March 30, 2007
Sencera featured in the Charlotte Business Journal

Sencera was featured by Senior Staff Writer John Downey in the March 30, 2007 edition of the Charlotte Business Journal. The North Carolina General Assembly is considering legislation mandating that utilities provide at least a minimum portion of their energy from renewable resources such as solar energy.

February 10, 2007
Sencera sucessfully completes United States Display Consortium (USDC) R&D contract to demonstrate production of thin film transistors (TFT's) on plastic substrates

Sencera is a Charlotte, NC based company focused on the development, production and sale of high performance plasma sources and photovoltaic device (solar cell) manufacturing tools. As part of our hardware development program, Sencera was contracted by the USDC to demonstrate a high performance PECVD source that is suitable for large area, plastic substrates.

January 03, 2007
Sencera Enters Technology and Licensing Agreement with XsunX, Inc.

Sencera, a Charlotte, NC based company focused on the development, production and sale of high performance plasma sources, photovoltaic (solar energy) manufacturing tools, and thin film solar cells announced that it has entered a process technology and licensing agreement with Aliso Viejo, CA based XsunX, Inc. Under the agreement, Sencera is to provide plasma source and process technology to XsunX, Inc. with goal of increasing production rates of their deposited thin film solar cells products. In return, XsunX, Inc. will provide development funding for the next generation of Sencera’s plasma sources and licensing royalties on the manufacturing processes that employ them.

June 19, 2006
Sencera presents invited work on high quality Silicon and Silicon Dioxide Films at the ICCG6 Conference in Dresden, Germany.

Sencera presented its high density plasma source work as demonstrated for thin-film transistor silicon dioxide gate dielectric layers. While scaleable to both larger and smaller lengths, the plasma source used for this work generates a high-density plasma uniform over a 950 mm length. The source operates at a low process temperature, compatible with many common plastics (e.g. PET). A substrate is passed under the source perpendicular to its long axis to achieve uniform films over a large area. This paper describes deposition of SiO2 and silicon films at 70 nm-meter/minute dynamic deposition rate (a static rate of 12 nm/second).