June 13, 2003 – Reno, Nev.-based Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. will form a new company with U.K.-based Hydrogen Solar Production Co. Ltd. to develop and commercialize a nanomaterial-based, solar hydrogen generator, according to a news release.
The two firms will equally own the new company and Hydrogen Solar owns exclusive rights to the Tandem Cell technology invented at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The companies said funding for the project is expected to come from federal agencies and private entities.
The Tandem Cell is expected to generate hydrogen using direct sunlight as the energy source, which the companies say could be more economical than current approaches. Altair and Hydrogen Solar will work to improve efficiencies through nanocrystalline compounds and the methods by which they are deposited onto the active surfaces of the Tandem Cell, the release said.
Altair, listed on the Nasdaq, closed Friday at 1.18, up from 1.12 Thursday.