Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) and organic (O)PV initiative Solliance is developing a roll-to-roll line and process to optimise high-volume OPV production.
As part of its long-term R&D programme in this field, Solliance has brought on board its first industrial partner, Smit Ovens, to address challenges of transferring OPVs from R&D to high-volume manufacturing. Netherlands-based Smit Ovens supplies drying equipment used in thin-film PV production and other industries, such as displays.
Solliance was set up to pool R&D of several research institutes in the Netherlands and neighbouring regions in thin-film PV technologies of amorphous silicon, copper-indium gallium-diselenide sulfide (CIGS) and organic solar cells, and team with industrial partners.
Its founding research partners are ECN, TNO, the Holst Centre and the Technical University of Eindhoven. Recently Belgium's Imec joined the programme. The Dutch province of Northern Brabant is investing €28.2 million in Solliance, to go towards state-of-the-art shared research facilities to nurture a thin-film PV cluster in the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen region.
Solar manufacturing
In a five-year deal Netherlands-headquartered Smit Ovens will supply the Holst Centre and Solliance with multiple furnaces for a roll-to-roll processing pilot line for drying the various layers of material used to fabricate OPVs. This will enable the pilot line to be expanded into a multi-layer setup that resembles a real production environment.
Smit Ovens will use the knowledge within the Holst Centre's large-area printing programme to design and build an initial furnace. Solliance, the Holst Centre and other partners will use the furnace to develop new OPV manufacturing processes. Insight gained will allow Smit Ovens to refine and mature its designs, and rapidly develop drying tools for the OPV industry.
The collaboration will allow the partners to investigate critical challenges in OPV manufacturing, such as achieving cleanliness and layer uniformity standards required for cost-effective, high-yield production. The furnaces will support inert gas environments and feature a modular architecture for scaling to higher volumes, ahead of full-scale production.
Under its OPV programme Solliance is also focused on improving substrates, developing ultra-thin and light cells, lifetimes for commercial applications, and indium tin oxide reduction in OPV production.
Enjoyed reading this article? For even more high-value content on the plastic electronics industry, subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine.
Documents and links
-
Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine
Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine, published six times a year, for just £100/€110/$160. Find out more here
External Link
-
Solliance
Thin-film and organic solar developer Solliance, founded by the Holst Centre and the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, is working on R&D level cell production
External Link
-
Solliance gets rolling
One of the most challenging and ambitious thin-film photovoltaic (PV) R&D initiatives is underway, attracting new partners and establishing pilot facilities
External Link
-
Plastic electronics promises energy everywhere
In 2010, the US Energy Information Administration noted that global energy consumption has risen from 355 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 1990 to 495 quadrillion Btu in 2007. The figure for global energy consumption is expected to grow to 739 quadrillion Btu in 2035
External Link