Reliance Industries subsidiary and PV module manufacturer REC Group has landed a supply agreement with solar cell and module equipment maker Maxwell Technologies that will see REC supplied with equipment to support its production of the REC Alpha Pure-R heterojunction (HJT) module.
Over the past two and half years, the two companies have expanded their collaboration on HJT cell and module equipment, which is the key foundation for the new REC Alpha Pure-R Series, unveiled and Intersolar Europe earlier this year.
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“For REC, this supply agreement means we have a reliable partner with a cost-effective and aggressive R&D roadmap, well matching our future product portfolio. With a strong manufacturing capacity, Maxwell is also able to meet REC’s aggressive ambition to become a multi-GW HJT player in the solar industry in the coming years,” said Shankar Sridhara, CTO at REC Group.
In October last year, Reliance Industries acquired REC Group and a 40% stake in EPC and O&M solutions provider Sterling and Wilson. It then went on to invest in German wafer technology company NexWafe as it continues its solar supply chain capacity expansion.
The conglomerate has also secured funding from India’s production-linked incentive programme to set up module manufacturing in the country and has started ramping up recruitment of staff for its Indian solar manufacturing plant that is currently under construction.
Solar Media’s head of market research, Finlay Colville, recently identified REC Group as one of the leading “credible HJT companies right now”, with the company currently undergoing a “transitionary phase” as it grapples with new ownership structures and technology objectives. You can read Colville’s analysis as part of an article exploring the defining cell technology trends for 2023-25 here.
The REC Alpha Pure-R Series contains G12 HJT cells and features half-cut HJT cells in the large G12 format in a patented panel design. It delivers a power output of up to 430Wp, while remaining under two square metres in area.
Production started this September at REC’s site in Singapore based on Maxwell’s equipment, doubling REC’s HJT Alpha capacities from 600MW to 1.2GW.
“We’re delighted to cooperate with REC once again and pleased that our HJT equipment has helped REC to achieve HJT innovation,” said Maxwell’s chairman, Jian Zhou.
“REC’s choice allows us to see a brighter prospect of global HJT market. In the future, we will continue to strengthen our R&D capability to provide the more advanced and improved HJT manufacturing turn-key solution to customers,” he added.
