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Materials
Opinion
Delivering gasses for rapid growth in the PV Industry - Linde Electronics
Noel Leeson, head of Linde Electronics, the global electronic gases business of The Linde Group, discusses the current growth in the photovoltaics industry on global basis and the challenges facing the industry in scaling production of both crystalline and thin film. Leeson also talks about supply chain issues and how Linde, is best positioned to support the continued rapid growth of the industry.
News
Hoku Materials inks hydrochloric acid solar materials deal with BHS
Hoku Materials said it has signed a supply agreement for hydrochloric acid with BHS Acquisitions. The deal is Hoku's second trichlorosilane primary materials agreement in a week, following the announcement of its metallurgical-grade silicon contract with Polymet.
BioSolar to begin commercial production of its BioBacksheet
BioSolar, Inc. has announced that it plans to begin commercial production of its BioBacksheet over the next few months and is currently getting ready for pre-production runs. The company’s announcement comes after a news reports states the Bio Solar has filed a comprehensive patent application to ensure BioSolar’s full protection on the BioBacksheet.
MEMC guides $100 million reduction in 4Q08 revenue expectations
MEMC has provided an update to its next quarter revenue target that falls significantly below guidance given only a few weeks ago in its 3Q08 results. Citing a worsening macroeconomic environment that has impacted demand from semiconductor and solar customers alike, the company expects revenue to be approximately $500 million, plus or minus $25 million, compared to $540-$600 million, as previously guided.
PV Crystalox Solar guides higher wafer shipments; 95% allocation in 2009
Polysilicon and solar wafer producer, PV Crystalox Solar has said that wafer shipment volume for 2008 will be in the region of 225-230MW, which is slightly above its previous guidance of 220-225MW. The company had previously reported that 1H08 production had reached 110MW. Despite the global economic situation the company noted that demand continues to remain strong with shipments continuing as scheduled and that 95 percent of its expected 2009 production has been secured with long-term contracts. Customers include Q Cells, Suntech, Schott Solar and the Intel spin off, SpectraWatt.
Update: LDK Solar signs wafer supply deal with BP Solar, makes remarks about business in October
Update: LDK Solar said it has signed a three-year wafer supply deal with BP Solar on the heels of sharing their thoughts about the current business environment. The agreement calls for LDK to provide 435 MW of multicrystalline wafers to BP and for BP to supply 1680 metric tons of polysilicon to LDK between 2009 and 2011.
SiGen and NorSun sign equipment supply agreement
Silicon Genesis Corporation (SiGen) and NorSun AS have endorsed an equipment development and supply agreement. NorSun will assess SiGen’s PolyMax “kerf-free” substrate samples and work together in optimizing the high-volume manufacturing equipment design that can process silicon ingots into kerf-free wafers of 150m thickness and below. Their new agreement also contains commercial terms for the supply of HVM production equipment to NorSun.
Featured Articles
First Edition: Challenges of the gigawatt fab
By Michael Kostwald, Turner & Townsend GmbH, Germany; Hans Mahrenholtz, Linde Gas, Linde AG, Germany; &
Anish Tolia, Linde Electronics, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
Thin-film solar cell manufacturing is poised to make a giant leap in scale with the birth of the gigawatt fab. Commercial thin-film plants are typically sized based on the capacity of the production line from the chosen equipment supplier. In most cases, initial investments have been for a single line, typically with an output capacity of no more than 60MWp. This period of initial development has allowed the industry to prove the robustness of the technology and capabilities of the equipment, as well as to understand the significance for the cost-per-watt of key cost drivers such as materials reduction, cell efficiency increases, and productivity. While large-scale manufacturing will positively impact costs, it presents a unique set of challenges for equipment and material suppliers, as well as the engineering and contracting
companies tasked with designing, building, equipping and running a facility on this scale. In this paper, we present the insights of two specialty companies in the solar industry. Turner and Townsend, a design and project management consultancy, and Linde, glass manufacturer and gas and chemical company – share their views of the challenges of the gigawatt fab in three dedicated sections.
Silicones: ideal material solutions for the photovoltaic industry
Dr. Ann Norris, Development Scientist, Dow Corning Corporation
ABSTRACT
Silicone polymers and resins have been formulated into multiple products that have a long history of successful use in a wide variety of applications and industries. Through chemical modifications of the polymer repeat unit, the optical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the polymers can be extensively varied and tuned to meet the requirements of specific applications. The inherent properties of silicones, such as very low ionic impurities, low moisture absorption, low dielectric constant and broad temperature utility, make them excellent material choices for applications in many of the specialty markets such as automotive, healthcare, electronics and microelectronics. These properties, in conjunction with their excellent optical transparency over a wide spectrum and UV stability, make silicones highly suitable for meeting the materials requirements for encapsulation of photovoltaic cells and other opto-electronic applications. This review will focus on the unique properties of silicones that make them ideal products for the entire photovoltaic (PV) module assembly market.
Read more >>Product Briefings
XeroCoat launches single-layer low-refractive index coating boosting module power conversion
Product Briefing Outline: XeroCoat Technology has entered the solar energy market targeting the solar thermal and solar photovoltaic segments with its antireflective coatings. The XeroCoat antireflective coatings are claimed increase conversion efficiency and, consequently, the power output of solar systems, while being of low cost.
New Product: XeroCoat launches single-layer low-RI coating boosting module power conversion
Product Briefing Outline: XeroCoat Technology has entered the solar energy market targeting the solar thermal and solar photovoltaic segments with its anti-reflective coatings. The XeroCoat anti-reflective coatings are claimed to increase conversion efficiency and, consequently, the power output of solar systems, while being of low cost. The combination of a single-layer optical coating and graded low refractive index enables XeroCoat's anti-reflective coating to achieve the highest attainable optical performance for any type of solar cover glass, the company claims. XeroCoat is actively engaged in demonstrating the technology to several leading photovoltaic module and solar thermal system manufacturers.
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