Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a publicly traded photovoltaic (PV) company located in Thornton, Colorado.

This allows for the efficient use of solar power in a range of new contexts, in which size or weight restrictions have previously rendered solar power impracticable: e.g., cell phones, airplanes, unmanned vehicles, consumer electronics, railways, space programs, and off-grid applications.

[5] Ascent Solar entered the manufacturing stage for its products in 2013, in part by teaming up with a range of other companies like TFG Radiant (for integrating these materials into a range of building and construction materials), Foxconn (for a "pilot project" at the Zhengzhou factory, which was then manufacturing the iPhone 5),[6] and Bye Aerospace (for solar-powered unmanned aircraft).

[10] On February 27, 2017, Ascent Solar announced that it had sold the EnerPlex brand and all related non-solar intellectual property rights to Hong Kong–based Sun Pleasure Co. Ltd in order to "focus on its core strength in the high-value specialty PV market".

[12] During the first few years of operation, its primary focus was developing CIGS thin-film technology and efficient methods of manufacturing it.