The Latest Astro N7 Module Series From Astronergy

• Astronergy's N7 module series features upgraded wafer, cell, and module technology, including the use of N-TOPCon 3.0 cell technology
• The N7 module series offers significant performance improvements, including a cell efficiency of 25.6% in mass production with a bifaciality of 85%, a module power of 615 W with an efficiency of 22.7%
• Astronergy claims that the N7 modules have an average lifetime energy gain of 2.8% and a BOS cost reduction of 2.1% compared to PERC modules.
• Company is planning to expand its cell capacity to 45 GW, of which 36 GW is for n-type, and module capacity to 50 GW by the end of 2023.

Astronergy is a vertically integrated PV manufacturer with polysilicon and wafer production on the upstream and manufacturing of cells and modules as part of the downstream. At the TaiyangNews conference, Astronergy's technical manager for EMEA Ibrahim Desouky, discussed the company's latest N7 module series and its product portfolio. The N7 module series features upgrades at the wafer, cell, and module level. First, the company has switched to rectangular wafers of 182 x 191 mm from M10 wafers. At the cell level, the company has adopted the upgraded version of the TOPCon cell technology called N-TOPCon 3.0 and has increased the number of busbars from 12 to 16. The improvements at the module level are using high transmittance glass as well as light reflecting film at the cell gaps (see recording here).

Going into the details, the move from M10 to 182 x 191 mm wafers increased the wafer area by 5% and cell power by 7.6%. The N-TOPCon 3.0 cell technology with several optimizations on the emitter and rear side enabled the company to achieve a cell efficiency of 25.6% in mass production with a bifaciality of 85%. The efficiency in R&D is 26%. The increased number of busbars to 16 improved the tolerance to microcracks, increased the mechanical load capacity, and lowered the resistance. The use of double AR coated glass increased the transparency by 0.3%, which helped to increase the module power by 1 to 2 W. The use of light reflecting film reduced the cell shading by 30% and increased the power gain by 2 W. This not only increased the specific energy yield by 0.5%, but also enhanced the mechanical load performance by 3 to 6%.

Astronergy promotes a total of 6 products, all of which are based on TOPCon cell technology, according to Desouky. 2 of them are from the latest N7 series. One is a 2,382 x 1134 mm module with a power rating of 615 W and an efficiency of 22.7%. Another is designed for residential applications with 54 cells, a power rating of 450 W and an efficiency of 22%.

The remaining 4 products are part of the N5 series, which is built on the M10 wafer platform. The larger 78-cell module with 16 busbars reaches an efficiency of 22.5% and 630 W power. The company also has a 585 W module with no busbar cell metallization layout that reaches an efficiency of 21.6%. The residential module of this series is built with 54 cells for a power of 430 W and an efficiency of 22%. The company is also promoting a module for AgriPV that has a power rating of 385 W. Compared to PERC products, the TOPCon N5 series increases the packing density of the modules per container by 5.5%. The latest N7 series increases the loading capacity by 10.1%, or 39.6 kW, which accounts for a freight savings of 0.04 to 0.08 dollar-cents per watt. Desouky noted that after evaluating Astro N7 in different regions of the world against PERC as the benchmark, it showed an average lifetime energy gain of 2.8%. Similarly, the reduction in BOS costs is about 2.1%, and finally the LCOE benefit is up to 2.5%, according to Desouky.

In order to meet the ever-increasing demand, Astronergy is planning to expand its cell capacity to 45 GW, of which 36 GW is for n-type, and module capacity to 50 GW by the end of 2023. Continuing further on this path, Astronergy is planning to reach the 100 GW module capacity benchmark in 2025, corresponding to a cell capacity of 90 GW, of which n-type is expected to take the lion's share at 81 GW. To ensure high product quality, Astronergy has built an in-house testing laboratory that can perform 14 testing procedures. The facility is already accredited by third-party accreditation organizations such as CNAS, CTC, Intertek, and TÜV Rheinland. Besides the lab, Astronergy also has an on-site testing facility to test the performance of the modules in real-time conditions over the long term.

The text is an excerpt from TaiyangNews New Solar Products Overview H1/2023, which can be downloaded for free here.