Now CEO of Konarka, Hess enjoys the opportunities and challenges inherent in a nascent industry. As a thin-film solar company, Konarka is well positioned to capitalize on the increased interest in clean energy technologies. Konarka is unique in that it uses organic polymers as its semi conductive material to make solar cells, and then prints them on plastic – a radical change from the deposition process used by most other solar companies. This results in a much faster, more economical manufacturing process, and produces a significantly more lightweight and flexible product that gives Konarka a real advantage in solar cell technology.

Konarka has leveraged these advantages to go beyond traditional solar rooftop markets, expanding its range of applications from small electronic sensors all the way up to large installations. “We offer a different technology, and a different way of manufacturing thin-film solar cells,” Hess says. “We’re providing applications that allow people to be mobile with their power – much like the wireless revolution allowed mobility with phones and computers.” Among the broad applications available due to Konarka’s different approach, Hess cites people bringing power with them while camping or going to the beach. “We really can target anything from small electronic applications to a plethora of shade and structure applications, like car ports and café umbrellas.” Additional applications include flexible material for use on tents and awnings, and prototypes for semi-transparent materials that can change color and be used in applications such as windows and exterior walls of buildings.

As a CEO of a Massachusetts-based company, Hess takes pride in Konarka’s local origins and helping to produce dynamic new jobs in the New England region. Konarka was founded out of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Hess points out, “so we were born out of the New England educational system.” Indeed, Hess credits the region’s strong educational and university system and its highly skilled workforce as key advantages to Konarka’s success.

Konarka has responded by settling in New England. The company’s commitment to the region includes its establishment of Lowell as corporate headquarters and home base for management, research and its pilot production line. For manufacturing, Konarka in 2008 acquired a former Polaroid facility, a 250,000 square-foot site in New Bedford, MA, and converted it to a plant that produces clean energy.

Though its origin is in New England, Konarka is certainly national in scope, and its business plan includes markets well outside U.S. borders. Given this view, Hess closely follows legislative developments on Capitol Hill that may affect the clean energy industry. Hess is currently monitoring the debate over comprehensive climate and energy legislation in the U.S. Congress. Though such legislation is unlikely to affect Konarka dramatically – the company primarily pursues off-the-grid applications that are not as dependent on the incentives included in the bill – he views such legislation as part of the process of solving the current energy crisis and therefore strongly supports it.

As Congress debates the legislation, Hess points to one provision for Congress to implement that will benefit the entire clean tech industry: a price on carbon. “I don’t think there’s any question it will be a great thing for people who are in a renewable energy business,” Hess says, noting that putting a price on carbon will “give people a financial incentive to move in the direction” of renewable energy. “It’s going to drive the industry further and faster, help support the industry and drive more jobs into the sector.”