Supply Chain Getting Stronger for HJT

Currently, several players are active in the HJT arena representing different streams—PV producers, equipment suppliers, research institutes and material suppliers. In terms of manufacturers, most of the HJT production factories were rather pilot and process development scale with one or two lines installed till the end of 2018; the only exception being Panasonic. By 2020, an increasing number of companies—both new to PV as well as established manufacturers—have joined the stream. Put together, TaiyangNews has identified  close to 30 companies that are active or are interested in the development of HJT.
This increased interest is also fueled by the strong emergence of the equipment and material supply wing for HJT processing. An interesting development with regard the processing tools is Swiss equipment supplier Meyer Burger, which is well known for supplying all the key tools required for making HJT cells and modules has withdrawn its solutions from the open market to pursue a career as a module maker. However, several new companies have joined the stream. The deposition tool makers are key here. For core layers deposition, Ideal Energy, Ulvac, Applied Materials and GS-Solar were well known, while S.C. New Energy and Maxwell have started offering PECVD tools.
On top companies like Jinchen, INDEOtec and Leadmicro are in developing phase with their solutions for depositing core layers of HJT. As for TOC deposition, Von Ardenne, Singulus, Ulvac have already been supplying PVD tools. The new companies in this segment are Maxwell and S.C. New Energy with its RPD.
For wet-chemical processes, there are quite a few number of companies including RENA, Singulus, YAC, Exateq, S.C. New Energy. Of these a few – GS-Solar, S.C. New Energy and Maxwell are offering a complete turnkey lines, sometimes cooperating with other equipment vendors (see table).
When it comes to process consumables, special silver pastes are required, which are offered by leading paste makers, including Heraeus, DKEM, Fusion and Toyo.
Research institutes involved in the development of HJT are not just confined to research, but are also closely working toward commercialization, with a few—such as Europe based CSEM, CEA-INES and Fraunhofer ISE—having already installed pilot lines. CSEM and CEA-INES started working on heterojunction technology quite early—2006 and 2005, respectively. Both research centers cover the entire process chain up to modules and systems starting from the wafer/cell level.
For details on the HJT process and production equipment, check TaiyangNews new HJT Solar Technology 2020 report, which is accessible for free download here.