CSG has been developed by some of the world's leading experts in crystalline silicon solar cell technology. Their goal was to develop a production worthy solar cell technology with significantly reduced energy and materials consumption whilst retaining the strengths inherent in crystalline silicon: the ability to withstand decades of exposure to bright sunlight in a harsh environment.

In the CSG production process, silicon is not required in the form of silicon wafers but comes from silane gas. A very thin layer of silicon, less than two microns thick, is deposited directly onto the textured surface of a glass sheet that traps light in the thin silicon. The silicon is crystallised by heating. The resulting layer is processed using patented laser and ink-jet printing techniques to form the electrical contacts needed to extract the solar-produced electricity out of the silicon film.

The CSG technology offers three main advantages: