Fraunhofer ISE Provides Technological Support to the Growing PV Industry in the USA
Spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a large number of photovoltaic factories along the entire PV value chain are currently being constructed in the USA.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is providing support in technology selection, product design and even during factory ramp-up for some of these companies. PV manufacturers are focusing on production technologies for high-efficiency heterojunction solar cells and particularly for TOPCon solar cells. Also shingle matrix PV modules for use in integrated PV products and space applications are becoming very popular. At the RE+ held from September 9-12 in Anaheim, California, researchers from Fraunhofer ISE will be on location to provide information on the advantages and disadvantages of current PV technologies and their manufacturing processes.
“The situation for the PV industry in Europe is presently very tense, yet we have seen a sharp increase in inquiries from the USA since the middle of last year,” says Jochen Rentsch, Head of PV Technology Transfer at Fraunhofer ISE. “It’s great to see how quickly and ambitiously PV factories are currently being implemented in the USA – and also the large interest for technologically sophisticated PV products.”
One of the factory projects for a fully integrated production, from the ingot to the TOPCon module, with a combined annual capacity of 7.5 gigawatts is currently being implemented by Convalt Energy at two sites in New York State. Fraunhofer ISE is the technology partner in the project and is responsible for the technology selection. Together with other European partners, the German solar research institute is supporting the development of the product design and the factory concept.
Fraunhofer ISE is also providing on-site support for both the factory ramp-up and the production of cell and module prototypes. “A pilot line is planned for ingot and wafer production in the first phase, in which a fully automated production line will be tested together with our partner companies,” adds Jochen Rentsch.
Additionally, TALON PV, headquartered in Houston, TX, is currently establishing a 4-gigawatt TOPCon solar cell production facility with the support of Fraunhofer ISE in technology selection and product design. The institute, along with its partners, is developing the factory concept and will play a crucial role in the factory’s ramp-up on-site, as well as in the production of prototypes during the preliminary phase. “Fraunhofer ISE has been, and will continue to be, an indispensable partner for the TALON project, providing high-value support and guidance,” says Adam Tesanovich, CEO of TALON PV.
Fraunhofer ISE is working on these projects with various teams from the European photovoltaic supply industry, of which the main development and transfer partners are Applied Materials Italy, ASYS, cm.build.ing, EcoProgetti, Halm, ISRA VISION, Lapmaster-Wolters, PVA Tepla, Raams, RENA, von Ardenne and Wavelabs.
The highly efficient TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) solar cell architecture, which was selected by the two manufacturers Convalt Energy and Talon PV, was originally developed by Fraunhofer ISE and was presented by the institute back in 2013, demonstrating its record efficiency. In the last two years, solar cell production capacity has massively expanded worldwide, particularly in China. According to the International Roadmap Photovoltaics published annually by the VDMA, TOPCon solar cells will hold a market share of over 50 percent by 2024.
Fraunhofer ISE is one of the few organizations outside China that is able to fully manufacture TOPCon solar cells in the newest large solar cell formats at its PV Technology Evaluation Center, PV-TEC in Freiburg. “We are very excited that we can now support our industrial partners in optimizing their production processes with this large-area wafer format or even in newly entering into the production of such solar cells,” said Sabrina Lohmüller, Deputy Head of the Department of Silicon and Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar at Fraunhofer ISE, while presenting the first successfully processed TOPCon solar cell with 24 percent efficiency in M10 format.
