Renewable energy fund 4RAE is investing USD30m in dye sensitised thin-film manufacturer G24 Innovations in return for a 15% stake in the company, in a deal that values the Welsh firm at USD200m. The news follows the announcement last month that Morgan Stanley is investing USD20m in the company in return for a 10% stake. G24 says it expects to launch further funding rounds to help expand sales of its solar-charging devices for mobile phones and LED lamps.

G24 hopes to become the market leader in dye sensitised thin-film cells, which are flexible and cheap to make. The cells work differently to conventional solar panels because the light-to-electricity conversion takes place as sunlight hits an electrode coated with titanium oxide dye, not a silicon wafer. This means the cost of the cells is immune to fluctuations in the price of silicon caused by bottlenecks in the global silicon supply. The efficiency of the cells is currently just 3% – compared to around 15% for conventional bulk silicon panels – but G24 says its product works even in low light conditions.

In May the firm won a USD200,000 grant from the World Bank to develop off-grid lighting solutions for rural communities in Africa. The firm is planning to release a 4W LED with a 0.5W solar charger and battery that it says will sell for around USD50. Company chairman Bob Hertzberg says G24 is looking into microfinance schemes that could help make the product affordable to the poorest communities.

4RAE is a renewable and alternative energy fund that is being launched soon in Luxembourg.