1366 Technologies opens solar wafer factory in Bedford

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

1366 Technologies Inc. said Wednesday that it is marking the official opening of a wafer manufacturing facility in Bedford.

The 42,000-square-foot factory is projected to employ 100 people, the company said in a press release.

Frank van Mierlo. Photo taken from company website.

One company goal is to develop a wafer that will result in solar energy that costs about the same as energy generated by coal.

Currently, manufacturing wafers for the solar industry is a multi-step, energy- and capital-intensive process, 1366 Technologies said. Its new Bedford facility is designed to produce a higher quality wafer at half the cost, the company said.

With the opening of the Bedford facility, “we are now squarely positioned to take advantage of what will be a 100 GW, $100 billion per year market in 2020,” company chief executive Frank van Mierlo said in a statement.

Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray is among the state and federal officials expected to be on hand for today’s opening ceremony, the company said.