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Boasting a potential breakthrough for the BIPV industry, Ascent Solar has presented its newest product, a monolithically interconnected 5-metre flexible lightweight module on a polyimide substrate. The module was constructed on the company’s 1.5MW roll-to-roll manufacturing line, weighs 2kg and produces 123W (under standard test conditions) with an aperture area efficiency of 9.1%.

“This is the largest monolithically interconnected CIGS module on polyimide and may be the largest of any CIGS module regardless of construction. The size and efficiency of this module make it a breakthrough for the emerging opportunities of flexible CIGS photovoltaic modules”, explained Dr. Prem Nath, Ascent Solar’s Sr. Vice President for Production Operations.

The module’s length will class it as a baseline for the company’s BIPV product development in the future. It was encapsulated during the testing and qualification of equipment that has been earmarked for use in Ascent’s 30MW plant, which is currently under construction.