December 2015 Quarterly Report and Appendix 4C
Canberra, Jan 29, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Dyesol Ltd (
ASX:DYE) (DYSOY:OTCMKTS) announce the December 2015 Quarterly Report and Appendix 4C with the following Financial Quarter Highlights:
- Quarterly Milestone of 1,000 Hours Thermal Stability for PSC Achieved
- ARENA LCOE Study indicates 10 - 13 Australian cents per kilo-watt hour
- EPFL Establishes New World Record PSC Conversion Efficiency of 21.02%
- Equity Capital Raising of $8.1 million
Corporate and Operational
The AGM was well attended with strong endorsement by the shareholders of the Company's strategy and successful implementation of its Business Plan and Technology Development Plan. All resolutions put to the meeting were passed.
During the quarter the share price enjoyed a strong move higher touching a high of 39 cents. While this was not sustained, the trading range for Dyesol shares is now higher than any time in the past 2 years and the trend positive. While positive share price performance and absolute returns are our key focus, we also note that DYE has outperformed the Small Ordinaries Index since the beginning of the financial year. Positive absolute and relative returns for Dyesol shareholders have been achieved in an Australian share market which has been volatile and for the most part negative. Drilling even further down, we also note that Dyesol has outperformed most global solar indices recently suggesting that Perovskites are gaining increasing recognition by astute investors as a genuine threat to the incumbent technologies, notably silicon.
Part of the reality of Dyesol's aggressive plans for commercialisation are periodic, but modest, capital raisings. Dyesol is fortunate to have a supportive and growing shareholder base, with particularly strong interest from retail investors, both in Australia and internationally. In addition, the recent A$8.1 million capital raising had support from institutional investors marking Dyesol's improved market capitalisation, its popularity with ethical investors and its keen focus and pleasing progress towards industrialisation.
Dyesol receives excellent leverage on equity funds raised with the Australian Federal Government R&D Rebate providing a 45c in the dollar recovery for expenditure on R&D activity. This typically translates into a $3 million to $4 million reimbursement from government in the 3rd quarter of the calendar year.
Research and Development
The quarterly Technical Advisory Board milestone focused on thermal stability was achieved. Dyesol prepared PSC strip cells and subjected them to 85 °C for 1,000 hours with <10% efficiency loss. Dyesol has now separately satisfied both key tests necessary to achieve formal IEC 61646 accreditation. These current results, however, did demonstrate bimodal variability, with the quality of encapsulation explaining success or failure within a prescribed experimental batch. This is very encouraging, but further investigation is required to finalise thermal stability testing before subjecting cells and modules to full, external accreditation. Next, Dyesol intends to reproduce these results in larger modules.
Dyesol has considerable expertise and IP in encapsulation. This is an area of ongoing focus in producing improved stability and repeatable performance. Automation is also considered a critical step in repeatable and high quality results and, of course, is an important consideration for manufacturability. The technical collaboration with Efacec and the University of Uporto is our flagship encapsulation project.
Dyesol is also making excellent progress on developing new processes which it believes can further contribute to both higher efficiency and improved stability. Initial experiments using a new additive in the material stack is consistently delivering a higher efficiency of approximately 3% and materially lower hysteresis. Stability and hysteresis are inextricably related. We are tempering our initial excitement with further investigation and testing, however we have sufficient data now to have confidence in proceeding to the first stage of patent application. A conservative approach to scientific investigation underpins our approach and we will inform the market if a breakthrough in scientific research can be confirmed. Further, the uncertain nature of patent application success adds grounds for caution.
Elsewhere, Dyesol's close collaborator, the EPFL, set a new world record for conversion efficiency of 21.02% for perovskite solar cells. This front-line position, based on superior technology and IP priority, confirms our position as world leaders in the commercialisation of the revolutionary, third-generation PV technology.
Manufacturing and Technical Collaborations
Pleasing progress has been achieved on both the Major Area Demonstration and Turkish projects during the quarter. As stated in the last quarterly update, announcements on both are imminent and only being delayed by the attendant rigour of valuable and high-tech projects, especially where government is involved.
In Turkey, one final technical checkpoint remains with a meeting scheduled in Ankara within the next 2 weeks. In the meantime, Nesli has satisfied all entry requirements for the establishment of a laboratory at the technology precinct in Mersin. This is a pre-condition for government financial sponsorship. With the assistance of Dyesol, all relevant grant applications were also submitted by Nesli at the beginning of January. February and March are, thus, scheduled as key months for "go-ahead" decisions by government.
At a similar time, Dyesol expects to name its collaboration partner for the first phase of its Major Area Demonstration project. The first phase is expected to include a feasibility study and a complete functional specification. This will add considerable scale-up expertise as Dyesol drives its commercialisation schedule for the mass manufacture of PSC PV by 2018.
Financials
The net operating monthly cash burn (Sec 1.8) for the second quarter averaged $1m, excluding the $3.3m of FY 2015 R&D Tax Rebates receipts. A net total of $7.7m was raised from the Share Purchase Plan during the quarter resulting in the issue of 31,202,938 new shares. Another 2,717,279 Dyesol shares have been issued to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO) as the final repayment tranche of funds expended under joint research projects.
At the end of the quarter cash balances totalled $10m.
About PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELL TECHNOLOGY
Perovskite Solar Cell (PSC) technology is a photovoltaic (PV) technology based on applying low cost materials in a series of ultrathin layers encapsulated by protective sealants. Dyesol's technology has lower embodied energy in manufacture, produces stable electrical current, and has a strong competitive advantage in low light conditions relative to incumbent PV technologies. This technology can be directly integrated into the building envelope to achieve highly competitive building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).
The key material layers include a hybrid organic-inorganic halide-based perovskite light absorber and nano-porous metal oxide of titanium oxide. Light striking the absorber promotes an electron into the excited state, followed by a rapid electron transfer and collection by the titania layer. Meanwhile, the remaining positive charge is transferred to the opposite electrode, thereby generating an electrical current.
To view the report, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-DYE-750648.pdf
About Greatcell Solar Limited
Greatcell Solar Limited (ASX:GSL) (OTCMKTS:DYSOY) is a global leader in the development and commercialisation of Perovskite Solar Cell (PSC) technology – 3rd Generation photovoltaic technology that can be applied to glass, metal, polymers or cement. Greatcell Solar Limited manufactures and supplies high performance materials and is focussed on the successful commercialisation of PSC photovoltaics. It is a publicly listed company: Australian Securities Exchange ASX (GSL) and German Open Market (D5I). Learn more at our website and subscribe to our mailing list in English and German.
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