Solopower SP1 CIGS Solar Cell String 51-Cell 14W Flexible SS Unencapsulated DIY

Solopower SP1 CIGS Solar Cell String 51-Cell 14W Flexible SS Unencapsulated DIY

This is a Solopower SP1 CIGS thin-film solar cell string consisting of 51 individual cells series-connected on a flexible stainless steel substrate. The cells are raw and unencapsulated — the active CIGS photovoltaic layer sits directly on the ultra-thin stainless steel foil with no glass, EVA, or protective topsheet applied. The 51 cells are joined in series using a clear conductive double-sided adhesive tape, with wire leads at the output end. This string was sourced directly from Solopower's Portland, Oregon manufacturing facility when it closed final operations in 2019 and represents genuine factory-new, unused stock.

Specifications & What's Included

• Manufacturer: Solopower
• Model: SP1
• Cell technology: CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) thin-film
• Substrate: Flexible stainless steel foil
• Number of cells: 51
• Cell connection: Series — clear conductive double-sided tape
• Flat dimensions: Approximately 14.5 inches wide × 69.5 inches long
• Open circuit voltage (Voc): 20V+ (measured winter midday)
• Short circuit current (Isc): 2A+
• Encapsulation: None — raw, unencapsulated
• Flexibility: Fully flexible; can be rolled, formed, or cut to custom shapes
• Origin: Solopower Portland, OR factory — unused stock, 2019 factory closure
• Includes: Cell string with output leads — no frame, encapsulant, or junction box

Applications

Solopower's SP1 was one of the few commercially produced flexible CIGS thin-film solar products made on a stainless steel substrate in the United States. CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) cells offer higher efficiency than amorphous silicon thin-film and greater flexibility than rigid crystalline silicon, making them well suited for curved surfaces, lightweight structures, and unconventional form factors. Because these strings are unencapsulated, they are primarily suited to experimental, prototyping, and research applications: builders can cut them to fit custom geometries, laminate or encapsulate them in their own housing, integrate them into flexible solar backpacks or portable chargers, embed them in composite structures, or use them as test specimens for CIGS material research. Solopower operated its Portland factory from approximately 2011 to 2019 and was one of a small number of companies to achieve commercial-scale roll-to-roll CIGS deposition on stainless steel — making this stock both technically capable and genuinely rare. Buyers working in DIY solar, academic research, product development, or advanced hobbyist projects will find these strings a hard-to-source material.