Key takeaways:
India’s ALMM List-II requirement is driving new domestic cell manufacturing announcements, including Celloraa’s 1.2 GW TOPCon facility
The project includes inline and batch wet-processing equipment for oxide removal, texturing, and polysilicon etching in TOPCon production, supplied by RENA Technologies
Selected tools emphasize reduced water use and elimination of H₂O₂, contributing to lower wastewater generation and chemical handling needs
Under the Approved List of Cells and Manufacturers (ALCM), or the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List – II, effective from June 2026, the solar projects deployed in India must use cells sourced domestically. This has already pushed several module makers to announce and start building cell manufacturing factories in the last few quarters.
Case in point is Celloraa Energy Private Limited, a new entrant in the PV space, which recently announced a 1.2 GW TOPCon cell manufacturing facility. The company signed a contractual agreement for equipment supply with Germany-based RENA Technologies GmbH (see India Solar PV News Snippets). The seed for this partnership was sown at the TaiyangNews Solar Technology Conference India 2026 (STCI 2026) in New Delhi in early February 2026. A few weeks later, a formal agreement was signed at Intersolar Gandhinagar on February 24, 2026.
As part of this agreement, RENA Technologies will supply both its inline and batch equipment for the wet-processing steps used in the TOPCon cell lines. The equipment includes InEtchSide 4+, BatchPolyClean N600, BatchEtch N600, and BatchTex N600.
InEtchSide 4+ is RENA’s latest automated equipment used to remove oxide layers and doped glass, including PSG and BSG. It is an inline tool with 12-14 lanes and is capable of etching the layers only on one side of the cell/wafer at room or higher temperatures. A key difference from other batch tools is that the wafers are processed horizontally, and the equipment integrates rinsing and drying. The tool is equipped with RENA’s patented single-side etching process called RFL – Water Capping. This ensures controlled single-side etching with the lowest chemical impact, helping protect the front surface. According to RENA’s press release, the agreement affords Celloraa the freedom to operate this technology for its announced cell lines.
BatchPolyClean N600, as the name suggests, is a polysilicon etching tool and can accommodate 600 wafers per bath with an overall throughput of 15,000 wafers per hour. Both BatchEtch N600 and BatchTex N600 are based on RENA’s Batch N platform, with the former focused on etching away saw damage and boron emitter removal, while the latter is compatible with both acidic and alkaline solutions.
According to product specifications, all batch tools are capable of processing wafers as thin as 100 µm, with a maximum throughput of 15,000 wafers per hour for the 600 wafers-per-bath configuration. These tools also feature integrated rinsing and drying steps.
One important aspect of the selected equipment is a reduction in water consumption and wastewater generation by about 50%. The processes are also free of H₂O₂, resulting in lower safety risks, reduced hazardous chemical storage, and fewer chemical waste streams.
All of the above features and technology developments in RENA’s wet processing tools are detailed in the TaiyangNews Market Survey on Solar Cell Production Equipment 2025 (click here to download for free).
Celloraa Energy, which aims to expand its cell capacity to 2.4 GW, stated that the additional deposition tools required to operate its TOPCon lines are also being sourced from European equipment suppliers. No other specific details are available at the time of publishing this article.