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SpecrtaWatt is a joint venture between Intel and four other companies, including an arm of US investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The new company will "concentrate development efforts on improvements in current manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy generation," and has applied for patent protection for its technology.

SpectraWatt says it will start manufacturing the solar cells at its Oregon plant from as early as next month, with

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products expected to go on sale by the middle of next year.

Whilst $50 million (£25 million) is a relatively modest investment for a company the size of Intel, the company claims it is a significant move. "SpectraWatt is a great example of technology resulting from entrepreneurial efforts inside Intel," says Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital, the chip maker's investment arm. "This is an important investment for Intel Capital in the growing cleantech sector and we look forward to working with the company to support its expansion."

Intel isn't the only tech giant moving into solar cell production. Yesterday, IBM said it had teamed up with Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK) to develop cheaper and more efficient solar power technologies. IBM said it was developing new methods for printing copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) cells that turn more than 15% of sunlight into power, a significant increase in solar-cell efficiency.