German research organisation Fraunhofer ISE has launched a new consultancy spin-off—NEXUS GreenTech—to support companies active in the solar PV industry.
NEXUS GreenTech was founded at the end of March, and is headquartered in Freiburg, Germany. The new company is led by Dr Jochen Rentsch, Dr Sebastian Nold and Dr Nico Wöhrle, who were previously working with the PV Technology Transfer unit at Fraunhofer ISE, and nave more than 60 years of cumulative experience in PV research, development and technology.
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Rentsch said that the spin-off aims to address “a great need for consulting” in an increasingly complex global PV industry.
“During our collaboration with PV companies in the field of technology transfer, we repeatedly noticed that many of the inquiries were not about a research question in the strict sense,” said Rentsch. “At the same time, there is a great need for consulting: Which cell technology should I choose, which suppliers are available, which factory layout makes sense—to name just a few issues.”
Fraunhofer ISE said that the company would focus on several key areas, including technical and commercial due diligence, feasibility studies, layout planning for factories and technology consulting. NEXUS GreenTech will use scientific methods from Fraunhofer ISE, secured through cooperation and licensing agreements.
The spin-off will start work with US solar cell manufacturer Talon PV, and support “the establishment and operation” of a new production line of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells. Last year, Talon PV CEO Adam Tesanovich spoke to PV Tech Premium about some of the legal barriers that have impeded domestic TOPCon production in the US, and how the company aims to overcome them. In the months since, the company signed a wafer supply agreement with German solar wafer manufacturer NexWafe.
This is also not the first collaboration between Talon PV and Fraunhofer ISE. Last year, the latter announced plans to build a pilot TOPCon cell production line in Germany to support the former’s development of its own manufacturing capacity in the US, and the launch of NEXUS GreenTech follows on from this cooperation.
