Polish firm establishing module plant using Meyer Burger’s ‘SmartWire’ technology

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Hanplast, a high-precision plastic mouldings engineering firm based in Poland is the first company to deploy Meyer Burger’s ‘SmartWire’ interconnect technology in a PV module assembly plant.

Talking to PV Tech during Intersolar Europe, Hanplast’s executives as well as JV business partner and Poland’s largest EPC firm, FreeVolt said it had signed a production equipment contract with Meyer Burger to supply and support the ramp of the novel technology at a new dedicated facility in the first quarter of 2015.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Jaroslaw Miszcuk, founder and member of the board of Hanplast told PV Tech: “We have 21 years of plastics processing experience and use of tooling and are a major supplier to IKEA for many years. We have been planning for two years and recently completed the construction of a new 18,000 square metre building for module production.”

The new PV module entrant will initially ramp an 85MW line with customers already lined up to support the production ramp, Miszcuk told PV Tech.

The company has crucially partnered with FreeVolt, which expects to deploy around 35MW of the ‘SmartWire’ based modules in various PV power plant projects across residential and commercial markets and expects to use around 20% of Hanplast initial production capacity for its own projects, according Kukasz Nowinski, CEO of FreeVolt.

However, the strong customer relationship Hanplast enjoys with IKEA could open the doors for both companies to collaborate in the PV business, something Hanplast executives hinted was in the works.

Indeed, other long-term customers in its core plastics business are also deemed to be potential customers.

Hanplast is also teaming with Meyer Burger via its SmartWire technology pilot line to provide further technology updates, material development and production improvements over time.

Meyer Burger’s pilot line will also be used for module certification purposes to fast track the initial production ramp in Poland.

One of the initial R&D programs Hanplast will develop is a plastic module frame system to replace aluminium mouldings. It will also develop its own junction boxes.

In a second phase collaboration with Meyer Burger, expected to be initiated in 2016, Hanplast will use cells deploying the equipment supplier's heterojunction design.

Meyer Burger’s SmartWire technology is claimed to boost overall module conversion efficiencies while lowering production costs by reducing losses between cells and module strings as well as significantly reducing bill of materials such as Ag paste consumption.

Poland is also home to OEM manufacturing firm Jabil Circuit, which has a module assembly plant in the country, currently extensively used by ReneSola to provide modules into the EU that avoid import duties and limits to shipment quotas from its manufacturing plants in China.

Jabil Circuit is said to have expanded PV module capacity in Poland to meet increased outsourcing demand and had a capacity of around 1GW. 

Read Next

October 11, 2024
JA Solar filed two lawsuits at the German offices of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) against fellow Chinese solar manufacturer Astronergy in July.
October 11, 2024
Canada has announced up to C$500 million in finance for the country’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways (SREPs) programme.
October 11, 2024
India's NHPC seeks to procure up to 1.2GW of solar PV capacity with up to 1.2GW 'greenshoe option' capacity bringing the total to 2.4GW.
October 11, 2024
The loan will support the development of the Guayepo I and II solar PV projects, as well as Enel's distribution business.
October 11, 2024
Danish renewable energy company Ørsted and US utility Salt River Project (SRP) have confirmed that their 300MW solar-plus-storage project in Pinal County, Arizona, has commenced operations.
October 11, 2024
Inkia Energy has revealed a solar PV expansion in Peru, targeting more than 1GW of new solar PV capacity operational by the end of 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 15, 2024
Santiago, Chile
Solar Media Events
October 22, 2024
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 12, 2024
San Diego, USA