Monica Manara, CCO Photovoltaics, for Coveme gave PES a frank interview on the ups and downs in the PV market. This company has been in photovoltaics since the beginning and is still finding new, innovative and technological advances to share with their customers. They have invested in two R&D sites to further these developments.
PES: Thanks for meeting up with us Monica, it’s great to talk with you. Coveme is a regular contributor to our publication so, for the benefit of our new readers, would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of Coveme and the importance of the solar/PV industry to you?
Monica Manara: The solar and photovoltaic market has always been and is still today of crucial importance in Coveme’s business strategy. In fact, our company’s photovoltaic business unit was set up at the same time as photovoltaics became a market. Coveme back then was the very first producer of backsheets in Europe and the world.
Nevertheless, this is a challenging market with many ups and downs, but it is still Coveme’s focus. We have two state-of-the-art production sites in Europe and Asia that guarantee the capacity and flexibility to face these challenges.
PES: We have been hearing a lot about your innovative materials and would like to know more.
MM: The photovoltaic market moves constantly and rapidly towards ever more efficient solar modules. Coveme’s two specialized R&D hubs in Italy and China are focused on finding new solutions and materials for a higher module output, new cell technologies, special environments like floating installations, and last but not least for an ever more efficient production in Coveme and in the manufacturing processes of our clients.
PES: We know you provide backsheets for cutting edge applications such as bifacial cells, where and what are these used for?
MM: Among the many innovations we have recently brought to the market, transparent backsheets and also frontsheets, for bifacial cell modules, have been one of the most requested, especially our dyMat® Selective, a transparent backsheet with an integrated highly reflective grid. Other cutting-edge applications are special laminates for flexible, printed and organic PV as well as back contact backsheets and mirror solutions for CPV and CSP.
PES: What are the benefits and financial implications of these products?
MM: In today’s PV market where incentives for installations are less and less, the urge to bridge this gap through highly efficient modules has become of paramount importance. The two main factors through which this can be achieved are cells and backsheets.
PES: Would you say that Coveme’s main focus is residential or larger scale utility products?
MM: Both types of installations are equally important for Coveme, since our production and sales spans globally and the focus of our customers, the module manufacturers, may vary from region to region.
PES: Coveme’s unique know-how is good for PV, but is it also good for solar and products other than back sheets?
