Each NanoShade comprises a set of angled slats or flat strips fixed at regular intervals in an aluminum frame. The 6"-wide slats are aluminum extrusions to which solar cells are affixed. The slats are positioned at the optimum angle to maximize solar exposure at the building's latitude. The silicon-based solar cells can be fashioned in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Initially these systems will employ conventional solar cell technology. They will incorporate advanced solar cells made possible by Natcore's proprietary Liquid Phase Deposition technology when they become available.

NanoShades showcase the company's ability to integrate solar panels onto a variety of shapes and architectural surfaces. Although they can be sized to fit any configuration, a typical NanoShade unit will be about eight feet high and five feet wide. Current designs call for nine slats within each frame.

A proof-of-concept system has been tested at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where it has been collecting data since April 2010 under the supervision of Prof. Andrew R. Barron and Dr. Dennis Flood, two of Natcore's founders.

Preliminary engineering and design work for a commercial system has been accomplished, and vendors have been sourced. Two patent applications relating to these systems have been filed, and NanoShade is constructing a prototype for independent testing and bonding requirements in preparation for initial production.

To examine efficiencies at a more northern latitude, NanoShade will conduct research at the University of New Haven in West Haven, CT, during the current academic year. Researchers there will also examine reliability, weatherability and endurance of the units. Ali Montazer, professor and Associate Dean of Engineering at UNH, will oversee the testing.

NanoShade expects its devices to help builders qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is intended to provide building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

To produce NanoShades, Natcore has formed NanoShade Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Red Bank, NJ. "We created a new company to market NanoShades because we don't want to distract from Natcore's primary business--the development of super-efficient solar cells with twice the output of conventional ones," says Chuck Provini, Natcore's president and CEO.

Provini will initially hold the same jobs with the new subsidiary, but design, production and marketing functions are being overseen by consultants with experience in architecture and construction.

NanoShade has already been asked to bid on new projects. Says Provini, "To show just how green we are, we're actually using recycled solar cells for some of our initial units. We've been approached by various companies to do this since they want to be at the front of the line when our super-efficient solar cell technology is developed."

NanoShade Solar expects to start accepting orders and shipping NanoShades in the first quarter of 2011.

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