Emcore Wins Solar Cell Contracts with SSL and Lockheed

August 1, 2014—Solar power components provider Emcore (Albuquerque, N.M., U.S.A.) announced this week the award of a new long-term supply contract with Lockheed Martin for the design and manufacturing of high-efficiency, multi-junction coverglass interconnected solar-power cells (CICs) for Lockheed’s satellite program. The award follows another long-term contract award in June, the largest in the company’s history, to manufacture high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells for the satellite programs at Space Systems/Loral (SSL; Palo Alto, Calif., U.S.A.). 

The Lockheed award follows many years of collaboration between the companies and is “one of the most significant contract awards in Emcore’s recent history,” said Brad Clevenger, executive vice president and general manager of Emcore’s photovoltaic division. The CICs specified in the contract are ZTJ triple-junction solar cells developed in a long association between Emcore, Lockheed and several other aerospace contractors.

The SSL contract followed 15 years of cooperation during which Emcore supplied more than 1 million high-efficiency, multi-junction, radiation-hard solar cells for powering interplanetary spacecraft and Earth-orbiting satellites. The contract duration and dollar amount were not disclosed.