Getting manufacturing right for our perovskite tandem technology is among the most important challenges Swift Solar has taken on. To lead our manufacturing work, we wanted someone with a deep understanding of the challenge—someone who had been there before, standing up first-of-a-kind factories and then scaling production.
That’s why we hired Bijan Moslehi as our VP of Manufacturing & Supply Chain.
Bijan joined Swift in March 2024, bringing four decades of experience in high-tech research, development, and manufacturing with him. Over those years working for world-leading semiconductor companies and advanced energy technologies, he gained a clear picture of how to take new technologies from “lab-to-fab,” and the kinds of obstacles that could emerge along the way.
He has also built a factory at the bleeding technological edge before. Several, in fact—from a first-of-a-kind large thin-film amorphous silicon PV solar factory in Dresden with Signet Solar, to the world’s first automated production lines for solid oxide fuel cell power generators with Bloom Energy. Now, he’s overseeing our effort to do the same with our perovskite tandem cell technology.
Bijan likes to say that, more than just overseeing manufacturing, his job is to help prove the pundits wrong. Because, with every step we take, we accomplish something we have been told is not possible. The Swift Solar team appreciates what his expertise and his can-do mentality bring to our team, and we hope you appreciate getting to know him.
Q: Walk us through your career highlights, and what led you to join Swift Solar.
I spent 22 years in the semiconductor industry—six in capital equipment, 16 in microchip manufacturing. I also had a stretch working in marketing for three years, then in technology investment banking for five years. So in the first half of my career, I learned about the engineering, operations, and business sides of high-tech. Then in the second half of my career, I moved into clean energy.
Through it all, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to build 10 different factories, producing microchips, fuel cells, and solar modules. Seven of them were first-of-a-kind factories, with successful lab-to-fab transition and scaling. A few were pilot lines, others were gigawatt-scale. Each one offered invaluable experience with scaling manufacturing.
In my work on solar, the goal has always been figuring out how to produce the highest-efficiency and the most reliable panel at the lowest possible cost. We’ve made great progress with silicon. With continued focus on manufacturing ingenuity and innovation, I believe perovskites will open the door to an entirely new level. So when I learned that Swift Solar was bringing on someone to lead their manufacturing work, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to help realize this vision.
Q: Tell us about your role as VP of Manufacturing & Supply Chain at Swift. What does your work look like day-to-day?
I’m responsible for Swift’s manufacturing and supply chain. Day-to-day, I’m collaborating with a large, cross-functional team—including colleagues specializing in R&D, engineering, business—focused on building manufacturing readiness into our technology.
We’ve spent the last two years running tests, reassessing assumptions, experimenting with new approaches, and engineering a prototyping line. And we’re very close to taking the next step of getting into the factory and beginning to scale production.
At the same time, I also oversee the design of the factory we’ll be building. Since this is a first-of-a-kind facility, we have to figure everything out essentially from scratch, including equipment, process, and process control. And it all has to work together like a clock.
Q: You’ve helped scale manufacturing for a range of technologies, from semiconductors, to fuel cells, to solar PV. What core lessons from those experiences guide your work now?
In a first-of-a-kind project, you encounter new problems requiring new, specific solutions. This requires a structured methodology for identifying challenges that require your attention.
Personally, I like to get into the details of the technology, down to the surface and interface states and molecular level. I ask the experts how things work, and why. We talk about potential changes we could make, as well as what types of process, performance, yield, and quality control and management practices we should use.
The idea is to sort out the “known knowns” and “known unknowns” as early as possible, which is critical for a successful lab-to-fab transition.
Q: How has manufacturing changed over the course of your career?
The factories I’ve worked in have involved automation to some degree, including fully automated lines. I’ve watched processes get more digitized and automated over time—not because it’s cool or impressive, but because it offers powerful solutions to known challenges.
Automation has unlocked some incredible capacity to make factory operations more efficient, cost effective, and reliable, which in turn enables higher-quality manufacturing. Integrating all of those systems, though, is the most challenging part of designing and building a factory.
Q: Many different companies are racing to commercialize perovskite solar technology. What do you see as Swift’s advantage in this race?
There are a couple, actually.
One is Swift’s world-class team. Not only on the R&D, engineering, and product side, but across sales, business development, finance… every division. That’s made Swift Solar one of the frontrunners in developing the best-performing perovskite tech, and it’s made my job easier.
The other is foresight. The fact that Swift’s leadership sought to hire for manufacturing at an earlier stage in the company’s lifetime demonstrates their understanding of how critical manufacturability is to scaling. Once you get to the manufacturing stage, the burn rate is high, and you can’t afford to start figuring it out then.
This team has the right people focused on the right challenges, so we’ll be ready when we move to manufacturing.
Q: What advice would you give to someone at the beginning of their engineering career who’s interested in working on perovskites?
Perovskites present great future opportunities. So you’re on a good path already. To go far on it, place a strong focus on learning and cross-functional teamwork. And always remember that listening is a virtue.
Nobody knows everything, but a good team has great collective knowledge. That’s why I try to spend the first 60 days in a new job saying very little other than to ask questions, with the aim of learning as much as you can. Learning never stops.
Q: What makes you most excited to be part of the Swift Solar team?
Back in my sophomore year of college, I took several classes about energy and learned about renewables for the first time. Since then, I have believed that a future of limitless, low-cost energy was possible. And this team believes in that future, too.
I’m delighted to be part of a purpose-driven group focused on unlocking the maximum potential in solar energy and tapping into this sustainable energy source to better society around us.
