Sunday, June 30, 2013

Halving the cost of Silicon Solar Cell research Completed

Thin Epitaxial Silicon Solar Cell Milestone Completed
Crystal Solar has completed a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded Incubator project regarding technology development and manufacturing cost-effectiveness of epitaxial solar cells and modules. Thin epitaxial silicon solar cell  technology has the capability to improve the way silicon is made by eliminating many steps in the current process flow while retaining the high efficiency of mono-crystalline silicon.

They estimate this could result in reduction of module costs by approximately 50% from today's levels to ~$0.40/W, enabling the cost of solar power to become comparable to existing energy costs in most parts of the world.

During the eighteen month period of this project, Crystal Solar demonstrated multiple cell architectures which allow high-efficiency solar panels, developed and productized industrial grade production tools for the manufacture of cost-effective Epi Thin Silicon technology, and completed detailed blue prints for a 100 MW factory. Scientists from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) worked with Crystal Solar in providing overall guidance, assisting with advanced processing and metrology, and verifying the efficiency and reliability of the prototype solar panels. Crystal Solar also collaborated with Georgia Institute of Technology in the silicon solar cell processing during this project.

Crystal Solar is currently commercializing this Epi Thin-Silicon technology and plans to complete pilot production in 2013, followed by high volume manufacturing in 2014.  

1 comment:

  1. Wow! this is exactly what we need in the Solar Energy Industry. Costs are roughly floating above 2$ a watt for installers and of course consumers are paying 4-6$ depending on the panels. This is great news!

    ReplyDelete