The Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) project is a historic government/industry R&D partnership composed of joint activities between the federal government (through the U.S. Department of Energy) and members of the U.S. photovoltaic (PV) industry. Started in early 1990, it is designed to assist the U.S. PV industry in improving manufacturing processes, accelerating manufacturing cost reductions for PV modules, increasing commercial product performance, and generally laying the groundwork for substantially scaling up U.S.‐based PV manufacturing plant capabilities.