Materials

Wickon Hightech has developed a new model of the ‘SPEEDFilm’ inspection platform specifically for PV manufacturers. The ‘SPEEDFilm Solar’ system ensures 100% inspection of screen printed paste structures with a very high throughput that is able to handle thinner and thinner printed structures on c-Si solar wafers.

Inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies (AST) said it was collaborating with several leading PV manufacturers in Asia to develop and test an enhanced version of its Veritas visualization software and quality control systems.

Suniva’s petition to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) puts PV demand at risk by the uncertainty created among investors and the global supply chain, argues market research firm IHS Markit.

Heraeus Photovoltaics has launched a specifically designed frontside silver paste to provide improved contact ability diamond wire cut wafer with ‘Black Silicon’ texture

Leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings has experienced a rise in polysilicon prices over the last 12 months, while experiencing a similar decline in the selling prices of solar wafers, causing a collision in prices going in the opposite direction that massively impacted its wafer operations profitability in the first quarter of 2017.

The production volume of solar PV panels based on thin-film deposition of semiconductor materials on large-area glass panels is set to hit a seven-year low in 2017, in spite of the end-market demand for solar panels increasing by a factor of three over the same time period.

PV module manufacturer Astronergy said it was undertaking a transition away from 4BB (busbar) technology to 5BB to boost overall conversion efficiencies at its production plant in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.

Norway-headquartered integrated PV module manufacturer REC Group has been officially approved to be able to bid on solar supply tenders in France, organised by the government after receiving the required low carbon footprint certification by French module testing and certification body, CERTISOLIS.

With its parent company SolarWorld AG and German-based subsidiaries at the early stage of insolvency proceedings, US subsidiary SolarWorld Americas Inc., has said for the first time since its parent company went bankrupt that it was planning to operate its manufacturing plant in Hillsboro, Oregon and other operations as normal.

Agfa Specialty Products has introduced ‘UNIQOAT,’ its next generation of polyester-based backsheet product. UNIQOAT eliminates the risk of backsheet delamination as it is manufactured as a single layer backsheet and achieves a level of reflectivity. The new product was showcased at SNEC 2017.