Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

Product Briefing Outline: Festo has introduced a Bernoulli Gripper for transporting delicate work pieces such as solar cells and wafers. The most particular benefit of the gripper is the minimized air consumption which reduces the energy costs. Other essential aspects are little swinging power, high grip force, low-pressure applications and a constant area load.

Product Briefing Outline: Camstar Systems has released ‘Camstar Enterprise Platform’ Version 4.5 for general availability. Enhancements in version 4.5 - driven in collaboration with leading manufacturers using the Platform - include expanded enterprise-caliber capabilities for global enterprises with multiple manufacturing locations and outsourced operations. Version 4.5 augments the Platform’s configurability and usability to allow users to quickly adopt the solution with minimal training – even where complex manufacturing and quality processes span discrete, batch and hybrid operations.

Product Briefing Outline: Enphase Energy is introducing the D380 ‘TwinPack’, a new product optimized for commercial installations. The D380 TwinPack is comprised of two Enphase Microinverters in a single enclosure and an innovative cabling system, further reducing Balance-of-System costs and installation time.

Product Briefing Outline: KUKA Systems has partnered with tesa SE to develop a new tape head module, ROBO TAPE R, which is used in the final automated application of adhesive tape to solar modules.

Product Briefing Outline: Sixtron Advanced Materials has introduced a patent-pending antireflective passivation coating technology that it says will greatly reduce the light-induced degradation (LID) problem for crystalline-silicon solar cells. The company claims to have demonstrated an 88% reduction in LID on cells treated with its silane-free ‘Silexium’ coating. The Silexium films can be used with high-performance mono-crystalline boron doped p-type Cz (Czochralski) silicon solar cells without the use of silane gas.

Product Briefing Outline: Xiris Automation has released the PVCI-1500 Machine Vision Platform targeted at crystalline silicon cell and wafer inspection. Optimized for inspection of solar cells as an incoming single-pass quality check, the PVCI-1500 combines specially designed optical components with fast analysis software, ensuring precise detection and classification of physical defects arising from shipping and handling.

Product Briefing Outline: SunPower has introduced the next generation of its T20 Tracker, which it claims is the most powerful solar tracker on the market today, incorporating SunPower's high-efficiency 128-cell, 400-watt solar panels for maximum energy output.

Product Briefing Outline: The Schmid Group has launched a new Tabber Stringer created in cooperation with the Wolf company. The system is designed to offer high precision performance combined with minimum handling and a soldering method that is claimed to reduce the risk of cell damage during processing and handling.

Product Briefing Outline: The RFS and RFS-D Fast Firing Systems and the RDS 2100 and 3000 drying ovens feature Rehm Thermal Systems Visu2 software, which drives a range of advanced process features and thermal control to enable PV manufacturers to move their processes to greater levels of efficiency and yield. Visu2 incorporates process and product traceability tools, remote diagnostics and an extensive product library within an intuitively designed interface that is claimed to dramatically accelerate set up time and reduces operator training.

Product Briefing Outline: Kaneka has introduced a newly developed ‘Hybrid’ PV module to the US market. The Hybrid PV module uses tandem junction cells, employing a microcrystalline thin-film silicon layer and the thin-film amorphous silicon layer. The new module is said to achieve a maximum 42% higher energy conversion efficiency than Kaneka's conventional thin-film amorphous silicon PV module. The nominal power of the Hybrid PV module is 110Wp.