“Don’t scare the heck out of people with something new,” he told TechCrunch. “No new molecules, no new physics.”
Instead, Merlin Solar turned to an existing and widely used solar technology, monocrystalline silicon. Solar cells made with the stuff are inexpensive but fragile; to prevent fractures, companies usually sandwich monocrystalline silicon within two panels of glass bordered by a metal frame. That makes panels heavy, and it limits where they can be installed.