Austin is home to HelioVolt, developers of a new process for making CIS (Copper Indium Selenide), a thin film photovoltaic. The film PV can be integrated into a number of building materials. Building solar power directly into the materials of a new building makes more sense than retrofitting solar installations.
HelioVolt's process was just named one of the best inventions of 2006 by TIME Magazine.
Imagine a solar panel so thin it can't exist apart from the building material it's printed on. HelioVolt didn't invent copper indium gallium selenide, a thin film used to generate electricity from sunlight, but it did develop a faster, more cost-effective way to manufacture it for use in large commercial spaces. The new process involves printing a fine layer of semiconductor directly onto glass, metal and other building materials so that new skyscrapers can go up solar power-ready from day one.
