Verde’s perovskite solar film being produced using a roll-to-roll manufacturing process. Credit: Verde Technologies
TAMPA, Fla. — Verde Technologies is turning to space to commercialize perovskite-based solar panels, shifting its initial focus away from rooftops in a bet that the thin-film material can help power orbital data centers and other large constellations.
Former Honeywell executive Jean-Noël Poirier is joining the Burlington, Vermont-based startup as CEO July 8 to lead its push into space. Chad Miller, who cofounded the University of Vermont spinoff in 2021, is stepping aside to take a chief technology officer role.
Verde initially set out to apply its lighter, flexible solar technology to terrestrial applications such as low-load commercial rooftops and the re-powering of aging solar farms using peel-and-stick adhesive backing.
The venture has successfully completed terrestrial trials and won funding from U.S. government agencies including the Department of Defense, but now sees a more compelling early market in space, particularly where shorter mission lifetimes could ease some of the durability challenges facing perovskite technology.
