Solaronix
Solaronix SA is a Swiss specialty chemicals and equipment company that supplies materials, kits, and solar testing instruments for Dye Solar Cell and Perovskite Solar Cell research and building-integrated photovoltaic applications to academic, research, and industrial customers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersAubonne, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Solaronix does
Solaronix SA is a privately held Swiss specialty chemicals and equipment company founded in 1993 by twin brothers Toby Meyer (CEO) and Andreas Meyer (CTO), headquartered in Aubonne near Lake Geneva. The company holds the EPFL Sun2 license for Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology acquired in 1994 and operates three interconnected divisions: Materials (specialty chemicals and kits for perovskite and dye solar cell fabrication including Ti-Nanoxide pastes, Elcocarb carbon pastes, Elcosil silver pastes, electrolytes, substrates, and sealing films), Solar Cells (DSC panels in customizable colors and transparencies under PICTO and SERIO lines for building-integrated and standalone applications), and Equipment (Solixon solar simulators, Sunirad light soakers, Cells Tester A-1525, and UV-Rad UV testers built around the proprietary Lumixo electrode-less plasma light engine with a 20,000+ hour lifetime).
The business model is hardware and consumables sales delivered through a direct webshop (shop.solaronix.com), direct email sales, and conference-driven demand generation, targeting research institutions, academic laboratories, pioneering PV manufacturers, and architects. Revenue mechanics rest on small-ticket consumables and kits for researchers plus higher-margin capital equipment (Class A/A+ spectrum simulators certified to IEC 60904-9, ASTM E927-05, and JIS C 8912) for laboratory and industrial customers. Notable commercial milestones include the 2014 installation of the world's first 300 m² multicolored DSC facade on EPFL's SwissTech Convention Center, a 2016 breakthrough achieving 500 cm² all-printed perovskite modules at 12% efficiency, and 2018 product launches extending the Materials portfolio into slot-die coating and low-temperature pastes for flexible substrates.
Customer concentration is distributed across hundreds of named research institutions worldwide (EPFL, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Max Planck, CNRS, Chiba, EMPA, TU Eindhoven, University of Michigan, Virginia Tech), with strategic partnerships anchored in the EPFL LPI relationship (since 1994) and extended through the UNIQUE European consortium on carbon-based perovskite solar cells (joined October 2019) alongside Fraunhofer ISE, CEA Tech, and other EU research centers. The company has no disclosed venture funding, no parent company, and no subsidiary structure, operating as a bootstrapped specialty supplier with three decades of accumulated materials and process IP.
Solaronix firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Solaronix
- Legal name
- Solaronix SA
- Website
- https://solaronix.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Solaronix SA is a Swiss specialty chemicals and equipment company that supplies materials, kits, and solar testing instruments for Dye Solar Cell and Perovskite Solar Cell research and building-integrated photovoltaic applications to academic, research, and industrial customers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Solaronix industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Photovoltaic Materials and Solar Testing Equipment
- NAICS
- Electric Lamp Bulb and Other Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (335139), Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513)
- SIC
- Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600), Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Next-Gen Photovoltaics R&D (Perovskite, Tandem, Organic, BIPV Materials) (EUAMAOAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Solar PV Module & Cell Manufacturing (Crystalline, Thin-Film) (EUAMAHAA), Solar Plant Components Supply & Manufacturing (Modules, Cells, Wafers, Mirrors, Heliostats) (EUACAGAK)
Keywords
Where Solaronix is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Aubonne
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Solaronix business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Materials Division: Production and distribution of specialty chemicals and components for Hybrid Solar Cell and Dye Solar Cell fabrication. Delivers retail quantities and bulk supplies to research centers, academic laboratories, and enterprises worldwide.
- Solar Cells Division: Development and sale of Dye Solar Cell panels and Perovskite Solar Cell products. Vertical integration includes pilot line production of solar panel prototypes and demonstration installations.
- Equipment Division: Conception and fabrication of solar testing apparatuses including Solixon solar simulators and Sunirad light soakers. Products available in standard models or customer-adapted custom realizations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Solaronix product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Solaronix develops, produces, and sells specialty chemicals and components for Dye Solar Cell (DSC) and Perovskite Solar Cell fabrication, manufactures customizable colorful and transparent DSC photovoltaic panels, and builds solar simulation and testing equipment based on a proprietary Lumixo electrode-less light engine. The company supplies research institutions, academic laboratories, industrial manufacturers, and architects worldwide, anchored by its original EPFL Sun2 license for Dye Solar Cell technology acquired in 1994.
Product overview
Solaronix is a Swiss company offering three interconnected divisions: Materials (specialty chemicals and components for Perovskite and Dye Solar Cells including Ti-Nanoxide pastes, Elcocarb carbon pastes, Elcosil silver pastes, electrolytes, substrates, and sealing films), Solar Cells (Dye Solar Cell panels in various colors and transparencies including PICTO and SERIO product lines), and Equipment (solar simulation and testing equipment built around the proprietary Lumixo light engine technology). The Equipment division produces Solixon solar simulators, Sunirad light soakers, Cells Tester, and UV-Rad UV testing systems, all integrated with Tracer IV-Curve Software. The company also offers kits for research and education including Test Cell Kits, Education Cell Kits, Classic Perovskite Solar Cell Kits, Monolithic Perovskite Solar Cell Kits, and Demonstration Cell Kits.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lumixo: Proprietary light engine technology for solar simulation equipment, featuring electrode-less plasma lamp with 20,000 hour lifetime.
- Solixon
- Sunirad
- Ti-Nanoxide
- Elcocarb
- Ruthenizer
Products and services
- Ti-Nanoxide Pastes Titanium dioxide pastes for fabrication of nano-porous photo-anodes in Dye Solar Cells, available in screen-printing (/SP), spin-coating (/SC), and slot-die coating (/DC) formulations for both research and industrial use.
- Zr-Nanoxide Pastes Printable zirconium oxide pastes for porous, electrically insulating layers in monolithic Dye Solar Cells and monolithic Perovskite Solar Cells.
- Al-Nanoxide Paste
- Ni-Nanoxide Paste
- Elcocarb Carbon Electrode Pastes Carbon pastes for highly conductive carbon electrodes in photovoltaic solar cells, including Elcocarb B/SP, Elcocarb G/SP, Elcocarb B-L/SP, and Elcocarb B/DC variants for different printing techniques.
- Elcosil Conductive Silver Paste Electrically conductive silver pastes for tracks and contacts, available in standard and low temperature (S-L/SP) formulations for screen-printing or blade coating.
- Platisol Platinum Catalyst
- Perovskite Materials
- Ruthenizer Ruthenium Photo-Sensitizers
- Sensidizer Organic Photo-Sensitizers
- Iodolyte Electrolytes
- Mosalyte Non-Volatile Electrolytes
- IonLic Solar-Grade Ionic Liquids
Quantifiable outcome
- Energy payback time reduced to several months instead of several years
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Solaronix
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Solaronix technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature5 records
Solaronix partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, major and minor.
- UNIQUE Consortium (Fraunhofer ISE, EPFL-Valais, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, LITEN CEA Tech, LEPMI, CHOSE, SPECIFIC, Dyenamo)flagshipEuropean consortium focused on carbon-based perovskite solar cells industrialization. Coordinated by Fraunhofer ISE. Solaronix participates as industrial partner bringing expertise in printable carbon-based perovskite solar cell technology.
- EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology)coreCollaboration with EMPA on slot-die coating inks for perovskite solar cell manufacturing, funded by Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). Resulted in first demonstration of slot-die coating of entire monolithic perovskite solar cell structure.
- Aalto University, CSEM, Flamac, Hasselt University, IMECmajorCollaborations with prestigious academies and research institutions including Aalto University, CSEM, EMPA, Flamac, Hasselt University, and IMEC for advancing perovskite solar cell technology and industrialization.
- EPFL LPI (Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces)coreCTI-sponsored project (2014-2016) aiming at efficient and low-cost Perovskite Solar Cells. Combines LPI's expertise in new material discovery and efficiency records with Solaronix's mastery of nanoparticle synthesis and printing techniques.
- KaïronKemminorCollaboration to investigate new range of purely organic pigments for sensitization of photo-anodes in Dye Solar Cells. KaïronKem supplies high-quality organic compounds.
- Richter Dahl RochaflagshipArchitectural firm contracted for SwissTech Convention Center project. Combined Solaronix's Dye Solar Cell technology with innovative architectural design for world's first multicolored facade installation.
- Romande EnergiemajorElectricity company that sponsored the 300 m² Dye Solar Cell facade installation on EPFL's SwissTech Convention Center.
- EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)coreFirst startup company to acquire license for Dye Solar Cell technology from EPFL in 1994. Ongoing privileged relationship with EPFL including collaborations with Prof. Grätzel's Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces (LPI) on CTI-sponsored perovskite solar cell projects.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Solaronix competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dyenamo: Sweden-based specialty chemicals supplier for Dye Solar Cells and perovskite solar cells. Directly comparable to Solaronix's Materials division and is a co-partner in the UNIQUE European consortium.
- Greatcell Solar: Australian successor to Dyesol, focused on commercializing Dye Solar Cell and perovskite technologies with materials, cells, and licensing. Direct competitor across Solaronix's Materials and Solar Cells divisions.
- Oxford PV: UK/Germany-based leader in perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells with a fully funded commercial pilot line. Competes with Solaronix in next-gen PV commercialization, though at a much larger capital scale.
- abet Technologies: US manufacturer of solar simulators and light sources for PV testing. Directly competes with Solaronix's Solixon/Lumixo product line in laboratory solar simulation equipment.
- Sciencetech: Canadian supplier of solar simulators and custom light sources for PV and materials testing. Comparable to Solaronix's Solixon and Sunirad product families in lab-scale solar simulation.
Emerging players
- Saule Technologies: Polish inkjet-printed perovskite BIPV startup focused on building-integrated applications. Comparable to Solaronix's aesthetic-DSC value proposition but with inkjet perovskite focus and dedicated BIPV commercialization.
- Caelux: US-based perovskite solar cell startup (backed by First Solar) developing perovskite technology for tandem applications. Competes with Solaronix in the perovskite cell development space with significantly larger capital backing.
Broad incumbents
- Newport Corporation (MKS Instruments): Global photonics and lab-instrument incumbent (now part of MKS Instruments) with broad solar simulator product lines (Oriel). Competes broadly with Solaronix's Equipment division across larger institutional customers.
- AMETEK: Large diversified electronics manufacturer whose electronic instruments group supplies solar simulators and test equipment. Listed as a Solaronix customer logo, indicating overlapping customer base in solar R&D labs.
- Merck KGaA (Performance Materials / Sigma-Aldrich): Global specialty chemicals incumbent with growing perovskite and solar materials portfolio through Sigma-Aldrich and Performance Materials. Broad competitor to Solaronix's specialty chemical and ruthenium/organic sensitizer offerings at much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Solaronix social profiles
Digital presenceSolaronix compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance8 records
Solaronix financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Solaronix leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Solaronix funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Solaronix M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Solaronix
What does Solaronix do?
Solaronix develops, produces, and sells specialty chemicals and components for Dye Solar Cell (DSC) and Perovskite Solar Cell fabrication, manufactures customizable colorful and transparent DSC photovoltaic panels, and builds solar simulation and testing equipment based on a proprietary Lumixo electrode-less light engine. The company supplies research institutions, academic laboratories, industrial manufacturers, and architects worldwide, anchored by its original EPFL Sun2 license for Dye Solar Cell technology acquired in 1994.
Is Solaronix a public or private company?
Solaronix is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Solaronix founded?
Solaronix was founded in 1993. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Solaronix based?
Solaronix is headquartered in Aubonne, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Solaronix make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Materials Division is the primary driver. The others are solar Cells Division and equipment Division.
Who are Solaronix's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dyenamo, Greatcell Solar, Oxford PV, abet Technologies and Sciencetech. Emerging players are Saule Technologies and Caelux. Broad incumbents are Newport Corporation (MKS Instruments), AMETEK and Merck KGaA (Performance Materials / Sigma-Aldrich).
Does Solaronix have an API?
No public API is recorded for Solaronix.
What industry is Solaronix in?
Solaronix's product category is Photovoltaic Materials and Solar Testing Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAMAOAA, Next-Gen Photovoltaics R&D (Perovskite, Tandem, Organic, BIPV Materials), with a secondary code of EUAMAHAA, Solar PV Module & Cell Manufacturing (Crystalline, Thin-Film). Its NAICS code is 335139 and its SIC code is 3600.