Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IBC4EU (Piloting novel cost-competitive bifacial IBC technology for vertical integrated European GW scale PV production value chain)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-11-01 al 2024-04-30
The IBC4EU project will develop cost effective and sustainable bifacial interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cell and module technology on pilot line level. Based on business cases from the whole value chain – ingot, wafer, cell and module – we will demonstrate that IBC technology is the most promising choice for a fast launch of GW scale PV production in the EU. Cost competitiveness not only against future heterojunction (HJT) and Tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology but also present-day PERC and PERC technology will be demonstrated for the polyZEBRA and POLO IBC cell designs. To reach this goal, cost-effective production equipment will be developed and eco-design approaches will be employed to reduce the need for scarce materials such as silicon metal and silver and to maintain indium-free design. Pilot lines, interlinked on all levels of production, will help to reach GW scale mass production not only on cell but also on ingot, wafer and module level until 2030. The advantage of the chosen IBC technology is that it is based on existing production technology. Thus, the project will focus on improving existing processing steps on already available equipment, introducing some novel equipment to reduce the cost of ownership, and employing Industry 4.0 solutions for predictive maintenance, quality control and traceability. The feasibility of the chosen technologies and the innovative products will be evaluated by business-related parameters as well as performance characteristics which will be tested according to the relevant standards and in demo sites. The environmental impact will be monitored closely and eco-design approaches will be used to reduce the CO2 footprint, increase the resource efficiency and recyclability and improve in terms of circularity potential.
Ingot & Wafer. A new hot zone design has been developed by NorSun, which targets an increase of productivity by 10%. Kalyon developed recipies for slicing thinner wafers with thinner wires, reducing the wafer thickness by about 10%. CEA Ines are developing a method for squaring at 45 degrees from the normal pattern in order to obtain edge passivation. ISFH and ISC have characterised p-type and n-type wafers from NorSun and Kalyon and obtained very good implied Voc up to 740mV and very good IBC cell efficiencies for a wide range of wafer resistivities. The results indicate that the IBC cell design will allow for increased wafer utilization from presently 70% towards 90%.
IBC Solar Cell. In the reporting period, solar cell efficiency of the polyZEBRA cells was boosted from 23.4% to 24.1%, whereas efficiency of POLO IBC cells has increased from 22.3% to 23.8%. Copprint, together with ISCK, has developed a novel method for a low-temperature Copper paste sintering and introduced several Copper pastes that are suitable for this. HIGH has developed a high throughput dispensing platform suitable for the metallization of IBC cells. A high-throughput sintering tool for Copper pastes in industrial environment was identified and tested by Copprint. The optimization and upscaling of cell cutting and cut-edge repassivation approaches was developed by CEA. An agreement between Kalyon and ISFH was finalized and signed which allows a POLO IBC solar cell technology transfer.
Bifacial IBC Module. Project partners tested different module materials and compared/optimized the available processes related to the studied interconnection methods for future fabrication of IBC modules with maximized full area efficiency, reliability, sustainability, and lowest possible cost. Three module interconnection technologies (conductive backsheet (CBS), tabbing-stringing and 3D woven multi-ribbon interconnection) are being studied as preparation for a joint experiment between the partners. Futurasun designed and assembled the prototype of a specific tabber-stringer based on an innovative manufacturing process and entered the testing phase of the machine, a very remarkable and successful first test result with real cells was achieved. Energyra performed major adjustments to its production line to handle the M6-sized ZEBRA cells. VALOE finished the development of the KELA production equipment design for bifacial CBS module production, and additionally, it is currently working on a new process for low-cost CBS manufacturing.
Industry 4.0 Concepts. Work was focused on using machine learning techniques for improving production yield, predictive maintenance, quality control and traceability of of PV modules. One of the key achievements was the development of predictive maintenance models for PV manufacturing equipment. These predictive models were designed to anticipate potential machine failures by minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity. They utilized historical data and machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and anomalies that could indicate an impending failure. Another significant accomplishment was the conceptualization and definition of a digital twin for PV modules. This innovative approach involves creating a comprehensive digital replica of each PV module, capturing all relevant details from manufacturing to deployment. This digital twin serves as a valuable tool for traceability, enabling real-time tracking and monitoring of each module throughout its lifecycle.
Sustainability. A new recycling route for the ZEBRA cells was succesfully developed and demonstrated in the laboratory.
IBC Solar Cell. In the reporting period, solar cell efficiency of the polyZEBRA cells was boosted from 23.4% to 24.1%, whereas efficiency of POLO IBC cells has increased from 22.3% to 23.8%. Copprint, together with ISCK, has developed a novel method for a low-temperature Copper paste sintering and introduced several Copper pastes that are suitable for this. HIGH has developed a high throughput dispensing platform suitable for the metallization of IBC cells. A high-throughput sintering tool for Copper pastes in industrial environment was identified and tested by Copprint. The optimization and upscaling of cell cutting and cut-edge repassivation approaches was developed by CEA. An agreement between Kalyon and ISFH was finalized and signed which allows a POLO IBC solar cell technology transfer.
Bifacial IBC Module. Project partners tested different module materials and compared/optimized the available processes related to the studied interconnection methods for future fabrication of IBC modules with maximized full area efficiency, reliability, sustainability, and lowest possible cost. Three module interconnection technologies (conductive backsheet (CBS), tabbing-stringing and 3D woven multi-ribbon interconnection) are being studied as preparation for a joint experiment between the partners. Futurasun designed and assembled the prototype of a specific tabber-stringer based on an innovative manufacturing process and entered the testing phase of the machine, a very remarkable and successful first test result with real cells was achieved. Energyra performed major adjustments to its production line to handle the M6-sized ZEBRA cells. VALOE finished the development of the KELA production equipment design for bifacial CBS module production, and additionally, it is currently working on a new process for low-cost CBS manufacturing.
Industry 4.0 Concepts. Work was focused on using machine learning techniques for improving production yield, predictive maintenance, quality control and traceability of of PV modules. One of the key achievements was the development of predictive maintenance models for PV manufacturing equipment. These predictive models were designed to anticipate potential machine failures by minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity. They utilized historical data and machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and anomalies that could indicate an impending failure. Another significant accomplishment was the conceptualization and definition of a digital twin for PV modules. This innovative approach involves creating a comprehensive digital replica of each PV module, capturing all relevant details from manufacturing to deployment. This digital twin serves as a valuable tool for traceability, enabling real-time tracking and monitoring of each module throughout its lifecycle.
Sustainability. A new recycling route for the ZEBRA cells was succesfully developed and demonstrated in the laboratory.
High-efficiency stable IBC cells with up 80% Silver reduction by replacing it with Copper have been manufactured and validated.
Initial module interconnection experiments were conducted successfully on ZEBRA cells with an alternative cell metallization based on copper instead of silver, having a major impact on consumption of precious metal usage in PV module manufacturing. Furthermore, a very innovative and unprecedented cell interconnection method was demonstrated to allow low-stress interconnection of ZEBRA cells, and implemented in an initial version of a wheel-based tabbing and stringing production equipment: first cell strings were successfully fabricated.
The developed predictive maintenance models are trained on data from Dryer furnace and Ingot furnace machines. As a result, this achieved impressive accuracy rates of 95.46% and 94.91% respectively, highlighting their potential to accurately predict machine failures and optimize maintenance schedules. In addition, the concept of a digital twin for PV modules has been defined and standardized. This allows the implementation of digital twin in next phase which maintains a comprehensive record of all module-related details and offers the benefits to the end-users in the form of web/mobile application.
Contrary to the usual focus on silver, an innovative methode was found to recover both, copper and silver, even in mixtures.
Initial module interconnection experiments were conducted successfully on ZEBRA cells with an alternative cell metallization based on copper instead of silver, having a major impact on consumption of precious metal usage in PV module manufacturing. Furthermore, a very innovative and unprecedented cell interconnection method was demonstrated to allow low-stress interconnection of ZEBRA cells, and implemented in an initial version of a wheel-based tabbing and stringing production equipment: first cell strings were successfully fabricated.
The developed predictive maintenance models are trained on data from Dryer furnace and Ingot furnace machines. As a result, this achieved impressive accuracy rates of 95.46% and 94.91% respectively, highlighting their potential to accurately predict machine failures and optimize maintenance schedules. In addition, the concept of a digital twin for PV modules has been defined and standardized. This allows the implementation of digital twin in next phase which maintains a comprehensive record of all module-related details and offers the benefits to the end-users in the form of web/mobile application.
Contrary to the usual focus on silver, an innovative methode was found to recover both, copper and silver, even in mixtures.