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.
