Luna Innovations was selected as one of 13 U.S. small businesses to enter into negotiations for an award in the Photovoltaic (PV) Technology Pre-Incubator program of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The PV Technology Pre-Incubator program bridges the gap between the concept verification stage of a technology and the development of a commercially viable prototype. This program is aimed at small businesses that have the capability to enter the market by 2012 with the goal to develop prototypes with projected manufacturing costs of less than $1/watt.

Luna Innovations will investigate new acceptor molecules for the development of improved high efficiency organic photovoltaic cells. In combination with advances in donor materials, this project aims to achieve record organic photovoltaic solar cell efficiencies.