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Origami Solar gained attention in late 2022 by earning a grand prize in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) American-Made Solar Prize competition. The $500,000 award aims to advance the company's patent-pending steel frame for solar modules to lower costs, reduce carbon emissions, and improve performance and value.
Today we take a closer look at how the company plans to reverse the solar industry's reliance on aluminum through the lens of CEO Gregg Patterson, a former Hewlett Packard executive who ran multiple global businesses before jumping into renewables in 2006.
Gregg said he made the career transition because he realized his grandchildren would "never talk about how good a printer I made."
"But if I got into renewables — and I looked at renewables and identified solar as the best play in terms of long-term upside — I could help save the planet," he recalled. "That became my drive."
He spent five years as CEO at PV Powered Inc., a manufacturer of grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) inverters, before leading the company through a 2010 acquisition by Advanced Energy Industries, a producer of power and control technologies. In 2013, he joined Demand Energy Networks as CEO and President — a role he held through the company's acquisition by Enel Green Power North America.
Gregg left Enel in 2019 to work independently but returned to corporate life at the behest of a long-time friend, Origami Solar co-founder Eric Hafter. Eric and his co-founder had an idea to create solar panels from steel rather than aluminum. And while Gregg concedes that it's "not the sexiest thing alive," he felt it carried significant value.
Steel frames are less expensive, reduce production-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and facilitate domestic ramp-up of module production. As Gregg sees it, those factors are crucial elements in making solar as green as possible.
"Solar will be 50% to 70% of the power portfolio by 2050. That means insanely huge growth. And you cannot flow that much growth effectively and predictably when you have supply chains crossing massive oceans to make it happen," he said, describing global supply chains as "inherently fragile" and full of bottlenecks.
Gregg received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington, and was awarded a Hewlett Packard Fellowship to attend Stanford University, where he received his Masters in Engineering.
Join us to learn more about Gregg's career, the lessons he's learned along the way and the role he expects Origami Solar to play over the coming years.
NOTEWORTHY QUOTEs:
“The small company can’t get to be a big company without the operational procedural. So it’s not like it’s bad and good. It’s how do you balance those so that the big company gets more agile and innovative, and the small company gets more procedural and efficient. ”
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ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
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