April 28, 2010, Updated September 24, 2012

Israel’s solar energy start-up Tigo Energy has begun operation in the US in collaboration with Architectural Glass & Aluminum (AGA). Tigo develops solutions for improving the performance of photovoltaic cells. The joint venture aims to provide a solar energy solution for residents of high-rise buildings.

Tigo’s flagship product, the Energy Maximizer System, will be integrated into solar panels used by AGA, a leading US glazing contractor for glass and aluminum buildings.

AGA will supply the glass and silicon coatings for the photovoltaic panels, and Tigo will supply the electronics that turn the glass into solar receptors. The companies project that they will have a commercial solution within a year.

The project is the first mass market solar energy solution. Until now, it was difficult for people living in apartment buildings to switch to alternative energy based on solar infrastructures. If the Tigo-AGA project succeeds, apartment residents will be able to generate solar energy, with its inherent benefits, such as the sale of electricity to the national grid at higher than normal prices.

The US Department of Energy and Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F) awarded a grant to the venture.

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