News: Photovoltaics
25 February 2026
First Solar licenses Oxford PV’s patents for US markets
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module maker First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA has announced a patent licensing agreement that gives it access to existing issued patents and currently pending patent applications of Oxford Photovoltaics Ltd (Oxford PV), which was founded in 2010 by professor Henry Snaith as a spin-off from the University of Oxford.
The UK-based firm operates a multi-faceted business model that combines manufacturing with strategic licensing, aligned with its mission to make perovskite PV mainstream. Oxford PV manufactures and commercializes perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells and modules in Brandenburg, Germany, and is pursuing expansion into high-volume manufacturing as part of its long-term growth strategy.
The non-exclusive license paves the way for First Solar, the largest solar manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s largest producer of thin-film solar technology, to continue advancing its development of PV solar devices employing a perovskite semiconductor for potential applications in the US utility-scale, commercial and industrial and residential markets. The scope of the license covers the potential manufacturing and distribution of such products in the USA and excludes crystalline silicon semiconductors.
“This agreement allows us to continue pursuing viable pathways to manufacturing and commercializing thin-film–perovskite products that could meet our long-term goal of serving all addressable markets,” says First Solar’s CEO Mark Widmar. “This agreement reflects the confidence we have in our R&D team’s progress in developing an efficient, stable and manufacturable perovskite device, while aligning with our long-standing positions on respecting and safeguarding intellectual property rights.”
First Solar says that it has spent over $2bn on thin-film R&D, which includes a focus on perovskites. Its investments include a new perovskite development line at its campus in Perrysburg, Ohio, that produces small-form-factor modules featuring a perovskite semiconductor, allowing First Solar to meet key internal milestones in its perovskite development program, including initial-stage efficiency, stability and manufacturability objectives.
Oxford PV claims to hold the strongest global patent portfolio for perovskite solar technologies. “Strong intellectual property frameworks are essential to supporting innovation at scale across the solar industry,” says Oxford PV’s CEO David Ward. “We welcome First Solar’s ongoing commitment to a perovskite-based PV future. Agreements like this, building on earlier industry validation, reflect growing confidence in perovskite-based photovoltaics – the next generation of solar technology we have been developing for over a decade – and support its advancement in the US market.”
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