en.Wedoany.com Reported - Sofab Inks, a manufacturer of functionalized metal oxide materials headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, announced the completion of a $6 million seed funding round, planning to use the funds to promote its Tinfab nanoparticle material. This material is used as an electron transport layer (ETL) in advanced perovskite solar cells.
The company announced a breakthrough in perovskite durability in April of this year. Halocell modules using Tinfab ETL maintained a normalized efficiency of approximately 100% after 1,300 hours in accelerated combined light, humidity, and heat testing (1,000 lux illumination, 85% relative humidity, 65°C). The industry-standard C60 electron transport layer is widely regarded as a commercialization bottleneck in terms of durability and scalability. Research published in 2025 by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Arizona State University in the American Chemical Society (ACS) indicated that the interface between the perovskite layer and C60 is a significant source of voltage loss. Additionally, C60 has low mechanical strength and low fracture energy, which can lead to delamination and cause early failure under field conditions. The researchers of the ACS paper observed fullerene-related delamination in both laboratory cells and field modules.
Company CEO Blake Martin stated that Tinfab material offers performance advantages over C60. Martin noted that the overall performance of perovskite cells is determined by the weakest layer, and the industry has long been plagued by fullerene C60. The company replaced this layer, and its metal oxide nanoparticles have a bonding strength six to ten times that of C60, remain stable at practical sizes, and achieved 22.3% efficiency on a 30 cm single-junction module. This funding will enable the company to enter high-speed production, and it plans to triple its engineering team to address scaling from 1x to 100x to meet the demands of 1×2 meter commercial specifications.
Sofab Inks stated that it has engaged in commercial contact or is in late-stage discussions with approximately 90% of the perovskite industry companies. Existing partners include: Alpha Precision Systems, which manufactures slot-die coating and drying systems for large-scale coating of perovskite inks; Energy Materials Corporation, focused on high-speed roll-to-roll printing of pure perovskite; and Halocell and SunXT, which are committed to launching commercial products incorporating Tinfab ETL technology. This funding round was led by Cloudberry Ventures, founded in 2024 by former Google executive Mahir Sahin. Sahin stated that Sofab Inks is redefining the return on climate investment by making solar panels more efficient than existing products; this investment reflects confidence in Sofab's trajectory as the company addresses key technology bottlenecks and scales production to meet global demand for next-generation solar innovation materials.
