The team at Rehm Thermal Systems is currently celebrating winning a coveted Solar Industry Award for its RFS-D Fast Firing System with integrated dryer and RDS Drying System featuring an advanced Thermal Oxidation process. Presented to the team at a ceremony held in Hamburg during the EU PVSEC exhibition, the Solar Industry Awards trophy recognises… Read more »
Somont GmbH, a company within the Meyer Burger Technology Ltd group has won the Solar Industry Award 2011 in the category „PV Process Improvement”. The specialist in solar cell connection technology has been recognised for its new soldering table for the semi-automatic connection of solar cells. Module manufacturers will be able to save valuable time… Read more »
aleo solar AG today announced that it has appointed Shane Messer as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing of aleo solar North America Inc.; he has also been appointed General Manager of this US subsidiary. He began his duties on August 1, 2011 and has operational responsibility for the company’s performance and development in… Read more »
DuPont Photovoltaic Fluoromaterials (DuPont) announced it has developed a new backsheet technology designed to enhance the quality and manufacturability of crystalline silicon solar modules by improving adhesion to encapsulants, resistance to ultraviolet (UV) light and enabling faster throughput in the backsheet production process. The company has recently signed a licensing agreement with Taiflex Scientific, who… Read more »
Complaint Alleges Infringement of Patent Relating to DuPontTM Solamet® Photovoltaic Metallization Paste Technology DuPont today filed a lawsuit against Heraeus Holding GmbH and Heraeus Materials Technology, LLC for allegedly infringing a DuPont patent related to its front-side metallization paste materials used in solar cell technology. In its federal court filing here today, DuPont alleged that… Read more »
Potential induced degradation (PID) is one of the main causes if a solar power plant’s performance diminishes over the course of its service life. Several solar manufacturers have now partnered up with renowned German testing institutes to launch a new initiative to prepare standard module tests for this phenomenon, which has been the subject of… Read more »
At this year’s 26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC: 5. – 8. September 2011 in Hamburg) GP Solar GmbH presents its latest product line for inline measuring technology with numerous hardware and software improvements. A proprietary development in the field of camera optics enables optimized defect detection by spectral analysis of… Read more »
– isishape® cutting-edge technology supports smart and simple processes in solar cell production– Launch of livionTM as a brand for dedicated DSSC electrolytes– Presentation of the first large-size glass-based screen-printed DSSC solar panel prototype from Fraunhofer ISE containing Solarpur® materials Darmstadt, September 1, 2011 – Merck KGaA will be exhibiting its latest material developments for… Read more »
During the upcoming PV SEC, Eurotron will show the world’s first MWT-mono IEC-61215 certified module on their booth (Hall A4 / Booth A16). This module has been developed and produced by TSC Solar BV, The Netherlands. It shows a 19% cell efficiency resulting in an impressive encapsulated module efficiency of 18,1%. Development of the MWT… Read more »
At a workshop of the conference of the International Solar Energy Society in Kassel, Germany, leading research institutes from Europe and the USA adopted a new draft for an outdoor test standard for photovoltaic modules yesterday. Using this standard, the project partners of the Network of Excellence DERlab (Distributed Energy Resources Laboratory) internationally unify long-term… Read more »
Dow Introduces ENLIGHTTM DC-8300 Coolant for Diamond Wire Ingot Squaring: Coolant Offers Cost Savings, Manufacturing Efficiency and Sustainability • Easy cleaning. • Reduced thickness variables (TV).• Good environmental profile.• Product to be officially unveiled at 26th EU PVSEC Conference: Hall A4, Stand B2. The Dow Chemical Company has introduced a diamond wire ingot squaring coolant… Read more »
Meyer Burger Technology Ltd – 1st Half Hear 2011• Excellent results once again• Continuing dynamic growth and attractive profit margins• Guidance for full year 2011 increased Meyer Burger Group increased its net sales by 61% to CHF 575.0 million in the first half of 2011 compared with CHF 356.9 million in the corresponding period in… Read more »
SunSi Energies Ships First Trichlorosilane (TCS) Order Outside of China Nitol Solar, Russia’s Largest Polysilicon Producer, Purchases Initial Order SunSi Energies, Inc. (“SunSi”), a specialty chemical provider to the solar industry, announced today that Russia-based Nitol Solar, one of the world’s largest polysilicon producers, has purchased 117 metric tons of trichlorosilane (TCS) from SunSi’s Wendeng… Read more »
DuPont Microcircuit Materials (MCM) recently added two key accounts, Sunways AG and Heckert Solar AG, to a growing list of leading photovoltaic manufacturers using DuPontTM Solamet® PV17x photovoltaic metallization pastes to produce higher efficiency solar cells and modules. Since their introduction in February 2011, Solamet® PV17x series photovoltaic metallizations have repeatedly proven they enable higher… Read more »
Advanced Formulation Delivers Capability for High Speed Roll to Roll Processing of Flexible Solar Substrates BRISTOL, U.K., Aug. 30, 2011 – DuPont Microcircuit Materials (MCM) has introduced the low temperature processing DuPontTM Solamet® PV414 photovoltaic (PV) metallization paste designed for rotary screen printing to enable high speed roll to roll processing of thin and flexible… Read more »
The energy turnaround and the push to expand renewable energy generation is posing major challenges for manufacturers of wind energy plants. To ensure economic viability, efforts are focusing first on improving the availability and productivity of existing production facilities. One of the wind energy industry’s top priorities is to maximize utilization rates by speeding up… Read more »
One of the largest fully-integrated solar module producers in the world, Sovello ensures that all the elements of the production process correspond to the highest quality standards and constantly aim for improved sustainability and energy efficiency. Indeed, it is Sovello’s aim to become the world’s ‘most sustainable solar company’. PES takes a look behind the… Read more »
PES takes a look at how the continent’s biggest and brightest PV power plants stack up against the largest in the world, and offers a glimpse of the mega-plants of the future. At the beginning of the year, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced the creation of a photovoltaic park in Kozani, a city in… Read more »
Frankfurt-based innovators tec5 AG are at the forefront of technology for spectroscopy. Here, PES talks to Manager Business Unit Systems Steffen Piecha about developing the products that will keep the PV industry at its best. PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Would you like to begin by explaining a little about the company, and how it… Read more »
In the PV sector, it pays to keep on top of all the latest technological developments, which is why PES has always published a wide range of whitepapers and research materials. We’re committed to continuing this with the introduction of a new, regular feature: Tech Dissemination. This issue discusses the improvements made possible by modelling…. Read more »
Stéphane Dufrenne is no stranger to innovation. With 13 years of experience in the semiconductor industry – nine of those while based in Asia – Stéphane has dedicated his career to developing cutting-edge technologies and world-class global manufacturing operations. As the CTO of Upsolar, Stéphane brings to the solar PV industry a fresh perspective based… Read more »
Could Europe’s solar dream be derailed by something as elemental as… the weather? Some believe, following some of the harshest winter weather on record, that the Earth is entering a sustained period of low temperatures. If true, what effect will the gathering clouds have for PV? PES investigates… In 2010, northern Europe suffered its coldest… Read more »
Five years ago, PES reported on plans to build a space solar array that had the potential to beam back massive amounts of power to earth. Back then, the ‘beam’ was a considerable technical sticking point, but it seems that the technology has moved on considerably, says Pete Martin… Japan intends to follow in the… Read more »
PES is proud to welcome Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH back to its pages. We catch up with Product Manager Chris Hellwig who discusses how the company are supporting high quality in manufacturing – from the lab to the production line. When measuring surface properties like spectral reflectance and transmission at fast moving and dynamic mass… Read more »
Though a relatively small operation in the industry, Enecsys are bringing their game-changing micro inverter technology to the residential and commercial market. PES talks to Enecsys CEO Henrik Raunkjaer… PES: Can you begin by telling us a little about Enecsys and what role your products play in the solar/PV market? Henrik Raunkjaer: Enecsys was founded… Read more »
The European Photovoltaic Industry Association’s annual report on the global market outlook for photovoltaics is always a welcome addition to PES, and this year is no different. As always, we’ve extracted the most important points covering the evolution of the European market, for a fascinating and essential briefing. A doubling of the market in 2010… Read more »
Grenzebach is a modern global organisation with a highly-motivated team who know their trade and are constantly developing new ideas for specific markets. To a large extent, the company’s success is based on the expertise and commitment of its employees. Several generations of them have been employed by the Germany-based company and each of them… Read more »
A world leader in a number of different market sectors, Henkel is known for its commitment to R&D and its brave approach to diversification. Here, Kornelia Theissen, Focus Segment Manager Solar Western Europe, discusses how the company’s portfolio delivers solutions across the entire value chain for the solar industry. PES: Welcome to PES, can you… Read more »
One of the few global PV manufacturers to enjoy a 1.5 GW capacity in 2011 with a vertically integrated model that produces high quality crystalline ingots, wafers, cells, and mono- and multi-crystalline PV panels, JinkoSolar is one of the industry’s biggest players. Recently we caught up with industry veteran and company spokesman, Arturo Herrero. PES:… Read more »
Despite growing concerns over Feed-in Tariffs, and worries within the industry of a market slow-down over the next couple of years, PES finds it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, business is booming… “All over Northern Germany we see such public participation projects come into blossom. PV power plants of this size contribute to… Read more »
Luvata’s Michael Nordgren talks to PES about keeping pace with technology, demand, politics and sunshine – on a global scale. The last few years have thrown many curves in the way of manufacturing and to no one is this more apparent than those involved with solar photovoltaic. With Feed-in Tariffs coming and going and PV… Read more »
One of the sector’s most innovative companies and a true system integrator in PV manufacturing, Meyer Burger is one of the solar sector’s shining lights. PES is proud to present a snapshot of this pioneering corporation. Meyer Burger stands for leading-edge photovoltaic technologies. The Swiss company is the only equipment manufacturer in the world who… Read more »
centrotherm photovoltaics succeeds ISE-certified solar cell with sensational 20 percent efficiency • Company presents product innovations and updates along the solar value chain at leading EU PVSEC photovoltaic trade fair • All technological developments focus on higher efficiencies and lower operating costs • Major order for multi-crystalline ingot furnaces from Taiwan for centrotherm SiTec Blaubeuren,… Read more »
With over 15 years’ experience in the field, Multi-Contact is a leading provider of dependable connector systems for photovoltaic installations. The company’s pre-assembled connectors, cables, and junction boxes allow for quick and easy connection on-site, while the cable couplers are fully touch-protected and designed for high voltage and high current-carrying capacity. It’s safe to say… Read more »
Chris O’Brien, Head of Market Development at Oerlikon Solar, talks to us about the company’s new ThinFab, which reduces the manufacturing cost of thin-film silicon modules to a record breaking € 0.50/Wp, with 10 per cent stabilised efficiency. It all adds-up to a very competitive package… PES: Thank you for taking the time to speak… Read more »
Where do defects show up in solar modules? Which cells contribute to producing energy? Are there parts of the cell that function in a restricted way, or not at all? Manufacturers and developers have faced such questions since the birth of this innovative technology. For the first time, they have the technical means to answer… Read more »