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Oerlikon Solar has said that its ‘Micromorph’ thin film-based solar modules have now passed all tests required for IEC certification through TÜV Rheinland. This means that customers should be able to reduce certification times from six months to less than six weeks, the company said. Oerlikon successfully completed both IEC 61646 (Module Performance Test) and IEC 61730 (Module Safety Test).

"We believe Oerlikon Solar is one of the premier equipment and module technology providers in the thin-film silicon solar PV market. They have proven their ability to scale a world-class technology and process to mass production, and passed all of our tests," states Willi Vaassen, Head of Renewable Energy division, TÜV Rheinland.

"Oerlikon Solar enables its customers to significantly reduce their time to market for IEC certified modules, and guarantees leading module performance with the highest levels of reliability and cost-effective processes," said Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar.

Oerlikon Solar also reiterated that it was in the process of assisting the production ramps of four additional Micromorph thin-film lines for customers that include Auria Solar, Chint, Heliosphera and Pramac. Two ‘Amorph’ technology users, Tianwei and Gadir, are also preparing ramps.

The turnkey equipment and technology supplier expects the combined ramps of current thin-film customers in 2009 to be more than 240MW, while cumulative shipped capacity over the last two years has reached 600MW.