EU PVSEC: Heraeus touts breakthrough ‘LECO’ tech increasing cell efficiencies by 0.15%

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Heraeus Photovoltaics has collaborated with German company, Cell Engineering to develop metallization pastes for its ‘LECO’ (Laser Enhanced Contact Optimization) technology that can increase multiple solar cell architectures conversion efficiencies by up to 0.15%. Image: Heraeus

Major PV materials supplier, Heraeus Photovoltaics has collaborated with German company, Cell Engineering to develop metallisation pastes for its ‘LECO’ (Laser Enhanced Contact Optimization) technology that can increase multiple solar cell architectures conversion efficiencies by up to 0.15%.

Heraeus noted that it had developed specific pastes for Cell Engineering’s patented LECO technology that was applicable to several different cell types, including P-type ultra-low doped homogeneous PERC, selective emitter (SE) PERC, N-type PERT and TOPCon.

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Martin Ackermann, President of Heraeus Photovoltaics, said, “Our collaboration and partnership with Cell Engineering has produced what we believe is a potential game-changer for solar cell metallisation. It will enable ‘perfect’ metallisation contacts and help customers get even greater performance from their solar cells.”

Hans Jochen von Bomhard, Managing Director Cell Engineering added, “Cell Engineering offers the customer the optimal equipment for the use of LECO pastes. The production spectrum includes a laboratory machine as well as equipment for integration into cell lines”. 
 
Heraeus said it had previously acquired a LECO tool and invented new metallisation paste to take advantage of the new technology. The breakthrough LECO tool and metallisation package is said to be a simple add-in technology that significantly reduces metal-induced recombination while maintaining low contact resistance. As a result, cell efficiencies are increased with minimal impact to production lines.

Heraeus will present its work on LECO-specific paste development at the EU PVSEC 2019 conference, on Thursday, September 12.

7 October 2025
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PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

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