"That's impossible" is a good foundation for fundamental intellectual property -- especially if that statement comes from a leading domain expert -- yet one has already made it happen.  Nanosolar engineers and scientsts have produced such progress in an entire array of technology areas.

Nanosolar owns the definitive portfolio of intellectual property with respect to the world’s most cost-efficient solar electricity products, specifically thin-film solar cells that can be produced with very high throughput.

Nanosolar has over 180 patents issued, licensed, or pending regarding all critical aspects of nanostructured materials, solar-cell technology, cost-efficient high-throughput processing, and relevant product and equipment designs. This includes exclusively licensed patents from pioneering work in the field: For instance, Nanosolar owns the printed CIGS patents with the very earliest filing dates of any patents.

The company has assembled a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio covering all aspects of technology platform, product technology, including several foundational device patents as well as key enabling techniques associated with the construction, optimization, and application of its technology in a way that spans all critical component, device, process, and system level aspects.

Nanosolar is constantly augmenting its IP position, mainly through new in-house innovation but also through collaborations and through sponsorship of the most innovative work in the area of cost-efficient solar cells.