As the US and India markets making life difficult for the Chinese, this is a golden opportunity for the European PV sector to collaborate with the Chinese to strengthen establish local solar PV supply chain, using the Chinese know-how and European innovation, according to the panelists on the final day of the TaiyangNews High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Conference.
Ideal Deposition developed its deposition solutions for perovskites solar cells based on special ALD, in which the two half reactions are not separated by time but with space, as the substrates moves into different chambers separated by inert gas curtains, shared the company's Process Technology Manager Dr. Jun Wang.
Laser Integrated Bonding (LIB) is a especially developed technology for 0BB XBC PV modules to bond solar cells and ribbons by a single laser process. This technology can help reduce silver consumption to 80 ~ 90mg, and enhance bifaciality of XBC module to 75%, potentially to 80% or even go higher, said DR Laser’s Vice President, Sales & Marketing Ben Lee.
Hangzhou First’s Overseas Sales Manager Bo Jin said since the BC cell has no contact on the front, it is possible to use thin POE or EPE encapsulation from the front side, and a white or black film on the back to increase generation and enhance appearance. He suggests high reflective backsheet F806WH as the best choice for glass-backsheet BC module.
Maxeon’s Principal Engineer Dr. Guangqi Xu stressed on reliability aspect as crucial for its IBC modules. He said that the Maxeon module could take 10x times more of IEC standard due to the redundant reliability design. It also offers longer reliability/performance guarantee than perhaps anyone else in the market.
SPIC Marketing Manager Seki Zheng said the company’s focus for the next few years will be on TOPCon+BC= TBC technology that enables steady efficiency improvement. Bringing in the best of both these technologies, SPIC uses its TBC modules for various applications including for BIPV, flexible and solar tiles. Tandem part of future plans.
For its GEN III INFINITE ABC solar module that will be commercially available in mid-2025, AIKO will undertake further improvements like reducing optical loss, improve cell efficiency, increase power conversion area and eliminate busbars that the AIKO Solar’s Product and Solution Manager Mohammad Alshrouf believes will increase power output by at least 15W.
One of the world’s largest solar PV manufacturers, LONGi is working towards 26.6% solar cell efficiency for the 2nd generation of its HPBC or HPBC 2.0 technology. For the future, it is already working on heterojunction+back contact or HBC technology with a target to exceed 27% cell efficiency. Tandem to follow next.
Keynote speaker for today’s conference, Co-Founder and Director of ISC Konstanz, Radovan Kopecek forecasts back contact to rule the global solar PV market as the technology of choice from 2027 onward when the average module efficiency will reach 25.5%.
TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela will engage in an interesting discussion on what’s the next big thing in solar cell and module technologies with Prof. Dr. Peter Fath of RCT Solutions, Peter Tillmann of AIKO Solarlab, and Radovan Kopecek of ISC Konstanz. Stay tuned!
In a few minutes from now, TaiyangNews will start the High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Conference that enters last and final day of its annual flagship event. Take a look at the agenda to see what’s all lined up today as speakers discuss XBC and next generation technologies!
RCT Solutions CEO Prof. Dr. Peter Fath, AIKO Solarlab's Chief Scientist Silicon PV Peter Tillmann, and ISC Konstanz Co-Founder and Director Radovan Kopecek, will discuss the next big thing in solar cell and module technologies with TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela in an executive panel discussion to wrap up the 4-day event on December 11, 2024. See you there!
TaiyangNews will see you all on December 11, 2024 on day 4 of its 4-day flagship annual event High Efficiency Solar Technologies. On the final day, XBC will be the subject of discussion with a keynote from ISC Konstanz’ Radovan Kopecek, and presentations from leading names—LONGi, AIKO Solar, SPIC, Maxeon, Hangzhou First, DKEM, DR Laser and Ideal Deposition.
Panelists on Day 3 of the TaiyangNews High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 conference foresee TOPCon dominating the global PV market for the next few years, though this will depend on the growth and advancement of competing technologies. For IP-related challenges, they see licensing as a key solution that not only incentivizes innovators and fuels further R&D efforts but also facilitates the widespread adoption of the technology.
As TOPCon solar cell technology continues to advance, manufacturers are increasingly concerned about performance losses at the laser-split edges of (half) cells. To mitigate these losses, several companies are exploring edge passivation solutions. Leadmicro has gone a step further by developing deposition and thermal processing tools that support half-cell processing, effectively eliminating bottlenecks in the production line for half-cell processing.
Senior Manager Marketing for Cybrid, Anurag Mishra pitched the company’s proprietary RayBo film for TOPCon saying that it enhances blue light transmittance and UV protection for the technology, and has demonstrated measurable power increases, with up to 0.53% improvement in energy output.
Comparing the cost of ownership for China made tools with RENA made tools for wet chemistry steps of a TopCon line, Senior R&D Manager Solar & Battery at RENA Technologies GmbH, Damian Brunner stated 30% difference. While his company’s tools have higher CapEx, these have lower power consumption, and reduced payback time of 6-12 months.
DMEGC has incorporated changes such as introducing poly-finger, and defect passivation repair to improve its n-type Infinity solar cell technology, shared the company’s Product Manager for Southern Europe at DMEGC, Alejandro Coll Garcia. Its module power roadmap now targets to achieve up to 720 W output for its Infinity double-glass modules by 2026, up from 705 W now.
JTPV’s R&D Manager Xinrui An said his company’s MoNo 2 solar cell technology empowers its customers outperform the competition claiming it is designed to maximize customer ROI and enhance power generation efficiency with its half-cut edge passivation, wave back surface field, and super thin finger.
Trinasolar Product Manager Lukas Ye said TOPCon will continue to remain its technology of choice long into the future as it targets to increase the cell efficiency with its i-TOPcon ultra technology to 27% and a module efficiency of 25%. i-TOPCon with perovskite is the next step in the company’s roadmap.
Tongwei Solar’s Regional Technical Service Director Jerry Jiang shared the company’s solar cell efficiency target under TNC 2.0 roadmap as reaching 26.5% using technical advancements of EPT, poly-layer optimization, advanced paste formulation, etc. expanding it from 25.4% under the current generation TNC 1.0.
Fraunhofer ISE’s Head of Group Silicon Solar Cells, Dr. Andreas Wolf as the keynote speaker went back to the 1980s to show TOPCon technology evolution. Suggested and termed "TOPCon" at ISE in 2013, the structure that was suggested for solar cells in the 1980s, has 'always' been around as the ‘shivering giant’ and has undergone several advancements to come to the TOP. Wolf said this will be the case in the future too - then as the bottom cell in a tandem structure.
You would want to stay till the end when you look at the panel today, comprising Fraunhofer ISE’s Dr. Andreas Wolf, Leadmicro’s Boachen Liao, RENA Technologies’ Damian Brunner and VDMA’s Puzant Baliozian. Listen in as TaiyangNews Head of Technology Shravan Chunduri drives the conversation to understand what’s more for TOPCon!
TaiyangNews is ready with day 3 of its annual flagship High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Conference. Picking up the threads of the discussion on day 1 of the conference on December 2, 2024, today is again devoted to the industry’s new workhorse, TOPCon solar technology. Look up the agenda to see interesting presentations from leading companies and experts lined up today.
TaiyangNews is now gearing up for day 3 of the High Efficiency Solar Technologies conference on December 10, 2024 as industry stakeholders come together to continue the discussion on the industry’s workhorse TOPCon. If you have already registered for the 4-day event, then all you need to do is log in that day. If you are yet to register, worry not! Here’s where you can register for free as we will close the event with a discussion on XBC and next generation technologies on December 11, 2024
HJT is a better technology, but the industry experience is more mature in TOPCon. Going forward however, being on the side of HJT is good Since it is best positioned to work in tandem with tandems, according to panelists on day 2 of TaiyangNews High Efficiency Solar Technologies Conference.
At present, round wire shaped ultra-fine low-temperature ribbon is most popular, but it will be triangular ribbon that’s expected to come into wider use since the latter has thinner diameter, lower soldering melting point, and higher reflectivity, according to the Manager of Overseas Market for ribbon supplier YourBuddy Mengjiao Liang.
R&D Director of Fusion a solar PV paste producer, Jasmine Chen listed cost, efficiency and reliability as the 3 primary reasons for HJT’s higher cost compared to TOPCon, something that the company says it attempts to address with its PV paste solutions with reduced use of silver.
Responsible for Product Management Solar at SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Jan Krausmann said all of the company’s HJT cell equipment manufacturing tools come with a flexible tray design to ensure these are compatible with all wafer sizes, up to G12/G12 halfcut.
3SUN CTO Cosimo Gerardi said the company’s Italian factory is up and running with 600 MW capacity, and will soon be rolling out modules at a GW scale. Its HJT roadmap targets 27% solar cell efficiency with several technical improvements on the way, but future focus is on tandem with HJT and perovskite
Risen Energy says its UV conversion film has lower UV transmission than the cut-off film and it can convert high-energy UV light into low-frequency visible light. Senior Product Manager of Risen Energy Jiajun Ye said that the company’s upcoming Hyper-ion Pro module with 730 W output, available from Q1 2025, will incorporate this technology, along with an improved stencil screen printing technique.
Huasun Energy’s Senior Pre-sales Technical and Product Support Manager, Kayn Huang shared the company’s ‘record-breaking’ efficiency and power output for its Himalaya G12-132 and Everest G12R-132 modules. Even though this is not commercially available, it shows the high potential of this technology.
The Head of Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell & Module Department at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Kaining Ding listed the various current trends in HJT production, including the urgency for manufacturers to shift to 0BB technology to further increase efficiency and reduce costs, and use of stencil printing with nickel or steel.
TaiyangNews Head of Technology Shravan Chunduri opens day 2 of the High Efficiency Solar Technologies Conference showing the growth of module efficiency for HJT technology. He said that HJT efficiency has improved from REC’s 22.2% in January 2022 to Huasun Energy’s 23.18% in October 2024.
TaiyangNews Head of Technology Shravan Chunduri will moderate the high-level panel discussion with Huasun Energy’s Head of Business Development Christian Comes, 3SUN CTO Cosimo Gerardi, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES’ Product Management Solar Jan Krausmann, and Forschungszentrum Jülich’s Kaining Ding. Stay on till the end as they discuss status and outlook for a promising high efficiency technology.
TaiyangNews is set to start day 2 proceedings of the High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Conference TODAY! Tune in at 10.00 AM CET as leading players in the heterojunction solar PV technology space come together to discuss the latest in this field. Last minute free registrations are open here. Get in NOW!
Moving on!
Day 2 of the TaiyangNews High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 conference on December 3, 2024 will be devoted to another high efficiency technology, heterojunction. The Head of Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell & Module Department at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Kaining Ding will open the event with a keynote address. So, tune in at the same time tomorrow, 10.00 AM CET with TaiyangNews Head of Technology Shravan Chunduri moderating 6 interesting presentations from Huasun Energy, Risen Energy, 3SUN, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Fusion & YourBuddy, followed by a high-level panel discussion. Free registrations are still on here!
Dec. 2/3 & 10/11, 2024: High-Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024
The current PV cell landscape has evolved significantly from the times when a single technology dominated. While TOPCon technology has quickly developed into th
As the global solar PV industry battles overcapacity and price challenges, panelists on day 1 of the TaiyangNews High Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Conference see the industry in a cost cutting mode going forward, but the big players with a 5-year horizon on mind will continue to invest in next generation technologies beyond TOPCon, including XBC and even tandem.
LAPLACE’s Director of Technology, International Business Unit, Josua Stückelberger said that the company is now expanding its product offerings by including laser tools into its portfolio to offer a complete solution for XBC that is getting high traction these days.
Zinan Zhang, the Technical Director of Solamet Materials Science, believes fine-line printing and low solid content rear-side pastes are the two mature and effective solutions for TOPCon cost reduction as these approaches reduce silver use. 0BB is also being used to lower silver consumption.
As the company turns into a 100% TOPCon manufacturer, Astronergy’s Product Solution Manager Sibin Yang said the manufacturer plans to stick to TOPCon as the dominant technology for the next 3-5 years, going up to TOPCon 5.0, but by then the manufacturer could possibly be also be looking at HJT and back contact architectures.
JinkoSolar’s Product Manager Leo Cong said for the manufacturer's upcoming premier TOPCon solar module product Tiger Neo 3.0, it plans to use its patented n-type TOPCon technology HOT 4.0 including HCP, MAX with up to 670 W output & 24.8% efficiency. The product is expected to be commercialized in Q4 2025, though in low qualities.
JA Solar’s Technical Pre-Sales Projects Manager Djamel Eddine Mansour shares the company’s TOPCon solar technology development including the transition to rectangular solar wafers and 0BB that leads to higher light absorption rate. The 0BB technology also lends better environmental attributes to the module, both in terms of carbon reduction in manufacturing, and at materials end.
HJT is not likely to reach cost parity with TOPCon in the near future unless there are aggressive cost-downs, or a jump of 2.5% absolute efficiency improvement, according to Alex Barrows, Head of PV at CRU/Exawatt. HJT, hence, is likely to remain relatively niche in comparison to TOPCon. The question to consider is what next after TOPCon? Back contact or tandems?
Efficiency gains and other cost reduction efforts likely to be offset by material prices in the medium-term, according to Head of PV at CRU/Exawatt, Alex Barrows. He says the silver market is currently in deficit, and this deficit is set to get even greater over the next few years, with a potential small decline in supply over the next five years as well as some growth in demand.
TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela kickstarts day 1 of the High Efficiency Solar Technologies conference with a quick overview on the latest commercial solar module efficiencies. The top 2 commercial modules on TaiyangNews Top Solar Modules list have over 24% efficiency, and all 3 of today’s cell technologies are among top 5 commercial solar modules. These technologies are the subject of discussion over these 4 days.
TODAY, the conference kick starts with some of the leading names from the global solar PV industry as they discuss the key trends and technology outlook for TOPCon solar cell technology. So, tune in with free registration here NOW!
Quad-talk in the panel!
Stay tuned till the end as after the interesting presentations will come an insightful panel discussion with TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela engaging in a conversation with CRU/Exawatt Head of PV Alex Barrows, JA Solar’s Technical Pre-Sales Projects Manager Djamel Eddine Mansour, and LAPLACE’s Director of Technology, International Business Unit, Josua Stückelberger. This quad will share perspectives on cost and development trends for today’s solar technologies. Now, who would want to miss that!
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