UTMESA+MESA+ InstituteNewsRebecca Saive named in MIT Technology Review’s ‘Innovators under 35’

Rebecca Saive named in MIT Technology Review’s ‘Innovators under 35’ for her invention of a new system for manufacturing solar cells

MIT Technology Review has named Rebecca Saive, assistant professor at the University of Twente’s Inorganic Materials Science (IMS) group, as one of their 35 ‘Innovators under 35’ in Europe over 2019. The list recognizes outstanding innovators under 35, whose suberb work promises to shape the coming decade. Saive was named for her invention of a new system for manufacturing solar cells, together with her team at the California Institute of Technology (CALTECH).

Saive has developed a new type of contact for solar cells whose cross-section is triangular, that mitigate virtually all losses related to the shadow effects of current front contacts. These improved contacts are called ETCs: Effectively Transparent Contacts. Next to her work at the University of Twente, Saive is founder and CTO of a company that will drive the commercialization of the new contacts, ETC Solar.