Merlin Solar’s curved panels will help it stay on the roof of the house everywhere

Solar panels are almost everywhere. Chances are one of your neighbors has it on their roof, as does the big box store down the street. As you drive there, you may see their field perched high along the road. With that kind of space, you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s no room for improvement.

Venkatesan Murali would like to prove you wrong.

Murali, founder and CTO of Merlin Solar, has been working on a new angle in solar for almost a decade. He founded the company in 2016, after Solyndra’s dramatic emergence in 2011 and as Chinese manufacturers were driving panels down the curve of direct costs. But Murali remained firm, even though he learned a lesson from the debate.

“Don’t scare people with something new,” he told TechCrunch. “No new molecules, no new physics.”

Instead, Merlin Solar turned to an existing and widely used solar technology, monocrystalline silicon. Solar cells made of materials are inexpensive but fragile; To prevent breakage, companies usually sandwich monocrystalline silicon inside two glass panels bordered by a metal frame. That makes the panels heavier, and limits where they can be installed.

Murali wanted flexible solar panels, but using monocrystalline silicon was a challenge. “Everything that is shiny will eventually crack,” says Murali. “Can we make sure that all the electrons will find their way, even if the bullet goes through?”

In response, the company changed the way the cells are connected within the panel. Merlin strengthened the number of connections in the front and back and, between the cells, made the connections green so that they could retract after bending.

“Suddenly, we had a product that not only can withstand cracking, but can withstand electricity when it cracks,” he said.

Merlin panels are much lighter than a standard glass panel, and their flexible nature changes how and where they can be installed. The panels come with an adhesive in the package, to stick on the surface like a baby sticker. The curved structure can follow the contour of different surfaces, allowing them to be mounted on the roof of a Winnebago Airstream trailer, for example.

Merlin says its panels can handle partial shading better than traditional panels. In a traditional panel, if something like a leaf is shadowing the corner of the cell, the energy production drops significantly. Merlin’s web of communication allows more energy to surround the shadow cell.

The added flexibility, light weight, and ability to handle fading have made Merlin panels a favorite among recreational vehicle owners. The company has also sold panels to companies such as Perdue, Daimler, and Ryder for use in their trucks, allowing them to reduce idle or fossil fuel consumption to power refrigerators.

Merlin’s tweaks meant its products cost more than standard solar panels, forcing it to reinvent who it sells to. “We are entering areas where we are not competing with each other on cost,” said Murali. “When I reduce the truck’s idle speed, I am fighting against the dirty and expensive power produced by burning diesel. So if I go against that, my ROI is usually within a year and a half. “

Besides RV owners and shippers, the company is also targeting the rooftop solar business, where most of the solar panels are installed. To top it off, the company recently raised a $31 million Series B round led by Fifth Wall with participation from Saint Gobain and Ayala.

Merlin hopes Saint Gobain, one of the world’s largest roofing materials companies, will be one of the startup’s biggest customers, as its panels find their way into Saint Gobain’s solar fleet, Merlin COO Laura Allen said.