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North East solar power innovator Power Roll is set to break into the Japanese market after securing a strategic partnership with one of the country’s leading energy companies.

The Sunderland firm has developed an ultra-thin solar film which can both generate and store electricity, and it can produce green electricity up to 20 times more cheaply than existing flexible solar photovoltaic technologies.

Now the company has announced a strategic partnership with an as yet unnamed Japanese energy firm, which has set out a range of research and development activities to establish the market potential and use cases for solar film in Japan.

The firm’s flexible and lightweight solar film will expand the market for solar energy, generating new opportunities across a broad range of applications.

A successful partnership will see the energy company become a licensee of Power Roll’s technology with the rights to develop, manufacture and sell its solar film in Japan.

The energy company aims to reach a significant renewable power source transaction volume in Japan and internationally by 2030.

“This major Japanese energy company is already demonstrating strong leadership in the effort to achieve net zero carbon, and we’re delighted to partner with such an innovative organisation to help them deliver on those goals,” said Neil Spann, chief executive officer, Power Roll.

Power Roll recently announced that it had closed £5.8m of investment over two funding rounds, which it will use to drive forward construction of a North East manufacturing plant.