High-performance low-cost modules with excellent environmental profiles for a competitive EU PV manufacturing industry

Project Information

HighLite

Grant agreement ID: 857793

DOI

10.3030/857793

Project closed

EC signature date 12 July 2019

Start date 1 October 2019

End date 31 March 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 15 087 603,61

EU contribution

€ 12 870 478,25

Coordinated by

INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUM
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - HighLite (High-performance low-cost modules with excellent environmental profiles for a competitive EU PV manufacturing industry)

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

As mentioned in the LC-SC3-RES-15-2019 work programme, the European Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing industry has faced strong foreign competition in the last years. To succeed in this competitive environment, the EU PV manufacturing industry needs to focus on highly performing PV technologies and products with excellent environmental profiles. This is because high performance (high module efficiency and high energy yield in kWh/kWp) helps reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of PV in all applications (residential, commercial & industrial, utility-scale). It is of even higher importance for distributed generation (DG) applications such as building-applied PV (BAPV), building-integrated PV (BIPV), or vehicle-integrated PV (VIPV) which are fast-growing markets due to the transition towards self-consumption and electro-mobility.
The HighLite project (Grant Agreement no. 857793) aims to substantially improve the competitiveness of the EU PV manufacturing industry by developing innovative manufacturing solutions for high-performance low-cost silicon PV modules with excellent environmental profiles (low CO2 footprint, enhanced durability, improved recyclability). To achieve this, the HighLite project focuses on thin (down to 100 μm) high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells with passivating contacts and capitalizes on the learnings from previous funded projects. In HighLite, a unique consortium of experienced industrial actors and leading research institutes is working collectively to develop, optimize, and bring to high technology readiness levels (TRL 6-7) innovative solutions at both cell and module levels. In practice, the HighLite project is aiming to realize the following 4 concrete objectives:
1. Demonstrate silicon heterojunction (SHJ) and interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells with efficiencies (η) in pilot-line manufacturing above 23.5% and 24.5%, respectively.
2. Develop industrial tools for the assembly of cut solar cells into shingled and back-contact modules.
3. Demonstrate high efficiency PV modules tailored for various DG applications. This includes modules for BAPV (η ≥ 22% and carbon footprint ≤ 250 kg-eq.CO2/kWp) BIPV (η ≥ 21% with improved shading tolerance), and VIPV (η ≥ 20% with a weight ≤ 5 kg/m2).
4. Show improved cost and performance (both through indoor testing and outdoor demonstrators) against state-of-the-art commercially available modules.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The HighLite consortium has already realized significant progress beyond the state of the art during the first reporting period including:
• The production at the CEA-INES pilot-line of 6300 SHJ cells with a shingle layout with best batches giving average cell efficiencies around 23.5% and record cells externally certified at 24.1% by ISFH Caltech.
• The production by ISC Konstanz of n-type IBC cells with η > 23.3% and by ISFH of p-type IBC cells with η > 23.0% using innovative process flows and industry-compatible equipment and materials. In both cases, the implementation of the polysilicon-based passivated contacts developed by HighLite project partners is expected to result in industrial IBC cells with efficiencies > 24% in the coming months.
• The optimization of novel industrial approaches to minimize cut-edge recombination losses including thermal laser separation, mechanical separation, and various edge re-passivation techniques.
• The completion by Valoe of a prototype machine capable of assembling ¼-size IBC cut-cells into back-contact modules at a nominal throughput of 1000 full-size cells per hour. This equipment enables flexible and automated manufacturing of PV modules with custom shapes and dimensions (for BIPV, VIPV, etc.) which is not possible today using conventional interconnection methods.
• The completion by Applied Materials (AMAT) of a shingle assembly production tool with a nominal throughput of 4000 wafer per hour (wph) that is compatible with cells as thin as 100 μm. AMAT is the only tool supplier currently providing a 4000 wph, soldering free (<200°C) equipment, fully compatible with SHJ cells.
• Promising performance and accelerated reliability results for various BAPV, BIPV, and VIPV module designs. This includes the development of modules with a wooden frame (to reduce CO2 footprint) and the demonstration of reliable modules with a weight below 5 kg/m2 for VIPV applications.
Overall, the HighLite project partners are well on track to meet the ambitious objectives set at the beginning of the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Significant progress beyond the state of the art has been realized by the HighLite project partners during the first reporting period and we expect this to continue until the end of the project. The implementation of innovative materials and production processes in pilot lines has already led to record results for SHJ cells produced with a shingle layout and promising cell efficiencies for low-cost IBC cells with passivated contacts. With further optimization of the different processes, including approaches to minimize cut-edge recombination losses, we expect to be able to meet both the cell and module efficiency objectives set at the beginning of the project. In particular, the successful demonstration of the objectives set for BAPV would result in PV modules that are vastly superior to commercially available p-type PERC modules in terms of efficiency (>22% for HighLite SHJ shingled and IBC cut-cell technologies vs 19-21% for PERC) and CO2 footprint (<250 kg CO2-eq./kWp vs 1120 kg CO2-eq./kWp for a typical PERC module imported from China). In addition, the tailored development of industrial tools for cutting solar cells into small segments (1/4 size or smaller) and assembling them into PV modules with excellent aesthetics and custom shape/dimensions enables to go from expensive hand-made production to low-cost automated manufacturing which is key to develop integrated PV applications such as BIPV and VIPV. By the end of the project, we also plan to demonstrate that the various PV modules developed in HighLite go beyond the state of the art commercially available PV modules in terms of outdoor performance, cost, and environmental impact (lower CO2 footprint, improved sustainability, etc.).
Altogether, the PV modules developments made in HighLite are expected to trigger new investments in the EU PV industry for “made-in-EU” PV cells, modules, and manufacturing equipment. This could also potentially trigger new investments in the rest of the value chain (polysilicon, wafer, encapsulant, glass, etc.) as this needed to significantly improve the environmental impact of silicon PV modules. Finally, other potential impacts include positive effects in terms of: (i) social acceptance of PV modules (“made-in EU”, better integration into the built environment, etc.) and (ii) European job creation and Gross Value Added (GVA) both in the upstream (manufacturing) and downstream (installation, financing, etc.) parts of the EU PV value chain.

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