BioSolar (OTC BB: BSRC), a young company dedicated to creating products that increase the sustainability of solar products, saw a dramatic increase the cost of its stock after announcing that its new back sheet is almost ready for market.

The company, so new that it trades in pennies, saw its stock rise nearly 50 percent from about $0.10 on Feb. 2 to a five-month high of almost $0.16 a share on Feb. 8.

BioSolar CEO David Lee credits the sharp rise in the stock value to a news announcement the company made Jan. 31.

"The announcement we made last Monday [about passing the Underwriter’s Laboratories initial material property tests] is a major step toward commercialization,” Lee wrote in an e-mail. “Those who are in the PV-component business understand and appreciate how difficult it is to get to this point."

He said the stock didn’t respond right away, but the reaction still seems to be linked to the pending commercialization of the company’s new product.

The back sheet itself, made from organic plant matter instead of the traditional plastic, was already on the market.

“But we decided to make a change to the color,” said BioSolar CEO David Lee. “And that change is a huge one.”

The new back sheet is a bright white color. Lee said a lot of BioSolar’s customers were asking for the change for cosmetic reasons.

“They like the contrast,” Lee said.

But some research has revealed that the bright white color of the new back sheet reflects a lot of the heat that would otherwise be absorbed by the panel and cause it to get hotter faster.

Photovoltaic solar panels operate at lower and lower efficiency levels the hotter they get. By reflecting and rejecting that heat, BioSolar’s new back sheets have led to increased panel productivity, Lee said.

The new BioBacksheet will be ready for market after one more test—the measurement of relative thermal index (RTI), which is the temperature below which material will retain its desired electrical and mechanical properties and not be compromised via thermally induced chemical degradation.

A provisional RTI value will be assigned to BioBacksheet approximately 90 days into the RTI testing, according to a BioSolar press release.

Lee said he didn’t want to speculate on when the back sheet will be on the market, but said customers, mostly solar panel manufacturers, can begin applying for their own certifications and re-certifications for the new BioBacksheet in 90 days when the RTI testing is complete.

“Our initial target is the North American market,” Lee said of where the company will sell its back sheets.