Trina Solar Officially Introduces Over 500 W Bifacial Module

• Two new modules have been launched by Trina Solar, both with more
  than 500 W power output and with up to 21% efficiency
• Of the two, Duomax V bifacial modules are glass-glass and Tallmaz V are
  glass-backsheet modules
• The company applied traditional half-cut cell design to 210mm ultra-
  large silicon wafers for these modules
• The company plans to start accepting orders for these modules in
  Q2/2020 and finally aim for over 5 GW annual production capacity

Chinese integrated solar module manufacturer Trina Solar has launched two new modules – and both, it claims, have more than 500 W power output. The new Duomax V bifacial products are double-glass modules, the Tallmax V panels come with a glass-backsheet frame. The module efficiency claimed for these modules is up to 21%.

Trina says it uses 210 mm large-size silicon wafers (so-called M12) and monocrystalline PERC cells for the modules. The cells are interconnected with multi-bus bar (MBB) technology. Another novel aspect of these modules is that the cells are split into three pieces, instead of slicing them into two as in half cell products. While the approach is not christened yet, industry some refer to it as "1/3rd cells" technology.

A non-destructive method is employed to cut the fully processed cell and high-density packaging technologies to reduce resistance loss. This technique also helps improve anti-cracking, anti-hot-spot performance of modules.

Splitting cells into three pieces makes sense, as with increased wafer size current also increases, thus the advantage with half cell diminishes. "If the traditional half-cut cell design were applied to 210 mm ultra-large silicon wafers, the high current output characteristics of the modules could trigger system challenges, or cause the module to crack or run afoul of DC terminal limits," explains Trina Solar.

The company deployed these modules in large scale ground mounted installations in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang and compared their performance with conventional 410 W bifacial double-glass modules. Preliminary estimates, as per Trina, shows the 500 W Duomax V can reduce the balance-of-system (BOS) cost by 6% to 8% and even the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) comes down by 3% to 4%.

Aiming for over 5 GW of annual production capacity for this technology, Trina Solar is targeting mass production in Q3/2020 and will start accepting orders for it by Q2/2020. Production on these modules was launched in January 2020 (see Trina Solar Begins Producing Modules With 210mm Wafer).