Two Fort Worth energy companies team up

Two small Fort Worth energy companies say they have teamed up to win federal research money and commercialize an improvement to solar cells.

SkyDrill Power Systems, a developer of wind-energy systems, is backed by Fort Worth investor Holt Hickman. ZT Solar works with a coating, developed at the University of Texas at Arlington, designed to boost solar cells’ efficiency.

They said Tuesday they formed a partnership that plans to submit by Jan. 29 an application for up to $500,000 in research grants from the Small Business Innovative Research program, administered by the Small Business Administration and National Science Foundation. Both are clients of TECH Fort Worth, a not-for-profit business incubator.

It would be ZT Solar’s second round of SBIR funding, the companies said.

Patrick Nolan, vice president of administration for SkyDrill, said his company has already submitted its own research-grant applications and will lend administrative expertise to ZT Solar. The broader goal is to create a company that integrates renewable-energy technologies for urban and commercial applications, Nolan said.

Nolan said ZT Solar’s coating markedly improves the performance of solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity.

SkyDrill is developing a wind turbine that is mounted vertically, unlike propeller-driven turbines. The company is about to install its first prototype in West Texas.