Quick Take
Headquartered in Scotts Valley, Ambient Photonics has a mission to reduce consumer dependency on single-use, disposable batteries. The replacement? Small solar cells that can harvest and store energy under low-light conditions, making them well-suited for small appliances such as computer mice or keyboards.
Americans purchase around 3 billion batteries a year to charge their laptops, power tools, watches and other devices. While some of these are recycled, countless others are thrown in the trash, which is harmful for the environment. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that on average, each person in the U.S. throws out about eight batteries a year.
The team at Ambient Photonics hopes to change this, by reducing the need for single-use batteries and replacing them with miniature solar cells. The company’s proprietary technology creates what are known as low-light photovoltaic slides. Essentially, they’re like the solar panels you might see on a building but about the size of a postage stamp or a dollar bill. The other big difference: They can harvest energy even in low light conditions, making them well-suited for indoor conditions. Primary uses include devices such as computer mice and keyboards, and remote controls. One company in Japan is testing out the technology to power its carbon dioxide sensors. Ambient Photonics has also inked a deal with Google, with the two companies partnering on a yet-to-be-announced consumer product that will rely on the technology.
Currently in pilot production, Ambient Photonics expects to begin mass production of its solar cells next month. And the company is doing it right here in Scotts Valley. Not only are its operations and research & development based here, but so is its manufacturing. Ambient Photonics is producing its solar cells for its first customers, in a fully automated manufacturing facility designed so it requires only a handful of people to run it.
Ambient Photonics opened the facility, which it says is the first low-light photovoltaic cell factory in the U.S., last spring in a refurbished building once home to Fox shocks’ manufacturing and previously owned by Seagate. Its global headquarters are just a few blocks away on Enterprise Way, and of the company’s 70 employees, 45 work in Scotts Valley.
Ambient Photonics launched in 2019, spinning out of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, a Boston-based research facility. CEO and co-founder Bates Marshall, who brings years of experience in the solar field, got involved with the project through an investor he knew. Keeping the company’s operations and production in the U.S. was important to Marshall, especially as much of the world’s solar production investment has moved overseas. China has come to dominate the solar market over the past decade-plus.
“It used to be that if you were a CEO and you didn’t put your factory in China, you’d be fired,” said Marshall. “But that’s changing. And because of our intellectual property, we wanted to protect it [by keeping it in the U.S.] and be close to Silicon Valley.”
As he began looking for a place for Ambient Photonics to ramp up, the pandemic hit and the ensuing shutdowns provided even more impetus for keeping production in the U.S. The Santa Cruz native had a personal interest in basing operations locally, including a desire to support the local community by investing here.
“We have a lot of talent here,” said Marshall. “It’s also wonderful to be able to bring investors, customers and suppliers here [to Scotts Valley] and show them what’s happening.”
The company has built its facilities strategically to allow room for future growth.
“We want to change the world with this,” said Bates. “We sized our factory to be big enough so that we could credibly supply some of the world’s biggest electronics companies.”
Before the company launched production, however, it needed to figure out exactly what would be the market driver for their innovation. In other words, “why would consumers or businesses care?” said Marshall.
The breakthrough was power density. The team realized that small devices – computer keyboards, mice and remote controls – was the sweet spot. For consumers, the big appeal of going battery-free is convenience and not having to worry about replacing dead batteries. From the corporate perspective, it’s cost savings as many are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce or offset their carbon emissions to meet new environmental compliance mandates.
Ambient Photonics’ photovoltaic cells, built from glass and other EPA-approved materials, are designed to constantly harvest and store the energy.
“The tech we’ve developed is in the molecules; it’s patented, and these molecules are printed onto a glass substrate,” said Marshall. “We think a lot about the lifetime of these devices.”
As the company ramps up production to move beyond the testing phase, Marshall is excited about the potential use cases and new partnerships the company is forging.
“We’re still a small team and reaching more customers is a big challenge, [but] we think we could sell out the factory by the end of next year,” said Marshall. “It’s really looking like we could become a critical technology.”
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