centrotherm has introduced a new fast firing furnace tool, c.FIRE for metallization of front and rear contacts of solar cells. It is suited for all common sorts of metallization paste and comes with an integrated and versatile dryer. Emphasis in the design was also placed on a compact footprint and maintenance systems in order to reduce the operating costs for solar cell producers.
AMETEK Programmable Power will be offering a fully automated EN50530 test solution that utilizes three core ‘Surround the Inverter’ elements: the TerraSAS Solar Array Simulator, MX/RS Grid-Simulator and CTS Compliance Test System. The programmable power products and systems simulate the output of solar arrays, the loads applied to the output of the inverter, and the interface with the grid, providing a comprehensive and energy efficient means of testing PV inverters.
It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Winston Churchill was referring to Russia, but his much-reused quote could just as easily apply to India’s nascent solar industry. Shrouded in secrecy, the state of play on the subcontinent is exciting as it is confusing.
Singulus Technologies had launched the ‘SINGULAR ICP-PECVD’ platform for the development and production of high efficiency silicon solar cells, requiring passivation layers for R&D and production applications. The platform has been applied at research centers and institutes in Europe, America and Asia.
For extremely high product quality and productivity for treatment of silicon bricks, Arnold Group has introduced the type 72/865 machine, which is a high-end combination of a surface and chamfering machine. Arnold claims that it now has a balanced production range in the grinding field with this high-end grinding machine which can serve the most different requests of customers. The improvements and further developments of this high-end grinding machine, 72/865, are also integrated in the surface grinding machine 72/860 and chamfering machine 72/852. Furthermore they influence the combination machine, now available as 72/855.
The photovoltaic-TPA (Thermo Plastic Applicator) from Bystronic glass group is a machine designed for the encapsulation and sealing of thin-film photovoltaic modules. The machine is claimed to be the first machine of this type that is capable of working in 24-hour operation without any interruption.
Saint-Gobain Solar has launched its ‘SolarBond’ Membrane materials for module lamination process in two models, SolarBond Membrane Standard and SolarBond Membrane Premier. The membrane is designed to protect the module and the lamination equipment in extreme temperatures.
Power-One has introduced its new AURORA ULTRA-1400 central inverter with an output power of up to 1.4MW and is the largest product in the Power-One RE offering for large-scale commercial and utility-grade PV power plants. . Industry-leading power conversion efficiencies of up to 98.7% combined with an extra wide input voltage range and multiple MPPT channels optimize energy harvesting across a wide array of operating conditions.
SunPower has launched the SunPower C7 Tracker, a solar PV tracking system that concentrates the sun's power seven times to achieve what is claimed to be the lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for utility-scale solar power plants available today.
OM Group has been providing plating solutions to the electronics industries for over 40 years. Through this experience, the Solar Chemicals division has developed a revolutionary Ni/Cu/Ag plating process for plating on top of fine line silver screened pastes. This economical and efficient process provides PV cell manufacturers cost savings while generating cells with higher efficiencies, as well as improved cell-to-cell consistencies.
