1366 Technologies lands $12.4 million in funding

Lexington start-up 1366 Technologies said it has secured $12.4 million in a first round of financing.

The company aims to make silicon solar cells competitive with coal as a source of energy, and it has just taken space in Lexington to build its pilot solar-cell manufacturing facility.

Company founder Ely Sachs, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is taking a leave of absence from MIT to help get the company off the ground.

According to his resume, Sachs previously invented the String ribbon wafer technology that is being commercialized by Evergreen Solar Inc., a Marlborough company that makes solar panels.

The financing round for 1366 Technologies was co-led by North Bridge Venture Partners, a venture capital firm with an office in Boston, and Polaris Venture Partners, a venture capital firm with an office in Waltham.

As for the significance of the company's name, 1366 is the earth's solar constant, the average amount of solar radiation just above the atmosphere, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)