German equipment company in laser systems for micro material processing InnoLas Solutions GmbH has secured an 'important new customer' in the PV business in the form of Meyer Burger. It will supply 2 Lumion line systems for the production of solar cells to Meyer Burger's patented heterojunction (HJT) technology, InnoLas shared.
The German supplier integrates its patented Laser Direct Cleaving (LDC) cell-cutting process into customized Lumion models. Use of a laser beam and direct cleaving process, explained InnoLas, makes the process of cutting cells an ablation-free one leading to clear-cut and fast working method that's extremely gentle on the material.
Meyer Burger's Production Manager at its Bitterfeld-Wolfen solar cell facility in Germany, Jochen Fritsche called InnoLas' LDC process ideally suited for its HJT/SmartWire technology.
"After the collapse of the European photovoltaic market around 10 years ago, it's good to see part of the business coming back from Asia. This is indicative of a current paradigm shift in the market. It's very encouraging to have another German customer in the photovoltaic sector," says Eckhard Schäfer, Vice President Sales Asia at InnoLas Solutions.
Innolas is part of the Photonics Systems Group that also includes high-precision laser applications company L-TRIS that caters of PV, electronics and semiconductor industries.In April 2021, Photonics appointed Lars Ederleh as the company's new chief sales officer who is set to join the group from June 1, 2021.
Placing an order for cell production technology with a European company is part of Meyer Burger's strategy to emerge as solar cell and module producer with a supply chain that is to large extent based on products Made in Europe. It recently locked contracts with wafer suppliers that purchase their polysilicon from another German company, Wacker Chemie (see Meyer Burger Concludes Wafer Supply Agreements).
Meyer Burger aims to initially have an installed annual solar cell and module production capacity of 400 MW each, in Germany and scale it up to a cumulative 5 GW by 2026 for which InnoLas said it has signed a letter of intent for further collaboration in the LDC system projects. It recently premiered its modules based on HJT technology with up to 400W output, targeting the residential and small scale C&I rooftop segment (see HJT Modules Made In Germany).