ATEL Venture said that DuPont has acquired one of its portfolio companies, Innovalight, which specializes in creating black “silicon ink” that is applied to silicon cells during the solar manufacturing process.

According to Innovalight, based in Sunnyvale, CA, adding the silicon ink printing step can increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells up by 19% over the traditional process.

DuPont purchased Innovalight to enhance the efficiency of solar cells and enable future innovations that could help quickly address the market demand for more highly efficient solar cell designs.

“Innovalight’s groundbreaking technology represents a tremendous opportunity for consumers and DuPont as well as for investors such as ATEL.” said Steve Rea, executive vice president for ATEL Ventures.

DuPont, founded in 1802, is a science-based products and services company. DuPont generates over $1 billion a year selling materials to solar manufacturers.

ATEL Capital Group is an international financial services company that offers its clients a wide array of financial solutions including equipment leasing, asset-based lending, venture finance, lease administration and asset management. Since its inception, ATEL has sponsored twelve public SEC-registered equipment leasing programs as well as four prior private growth capital investment programs. These Funds have attracted over 45,000 investors since ATEL’s first public program was created in 1986.