The aim of the MC2.0-project is that IPV products become widely available and affordable. To achieve this, it is important (1) to generate solar electricity where the demand is (in the built environment) and (2) to enable multifunctional use of area and space in the built environment. Several parties in the MC2.0 consortium have more than 20 years of experience in IPV development and as such have been involved in many earlier projects and studies. We believe that the major barrier for large scale market uptake of IPV is the high cost. Other - secondary but also important – barriers are immature sector cooperation and certification issues.
The approach of the MC2.0 project is to demonstrate a cost breakthrough for IPV by means of an advanced manufacturing approach, referred to as “mass customization”. In coherence with this approach, we will contribute to solving the other identified barriers. To realize this ambition, the MC2.0 consortium brings together experts and companies on materials for PV laminates (including PV cells), on manufacturing of PV laminates, on manufacturing of IPV products and on market and application of IPV products.
The mass-customization process already has a history of more than 25 years in other industries. However, within the PV industry, this concept seems to be a scientific innovation to the best of our knowledge, as will be clarified in this contribution.
The relevance becomes clear when one realizes that in the past 25 years, many integrated photovoltaics (IPV) products have been introduced and demonstrated . However, unfortunately, large scale deployment and massive market adoption of these technologies and products have not yet taken place. We foresee a huge scale-up and capacity build-up of PV manufacturing industry in Europe in the upcoming 5 years, that will have a large effect on our living environment.
