Midsummer customer reaches 14 percent CIGS efficiency
Midsummer, a Swedish supplier of production lines for making CIGS solar cells, has announced that an Asian customer is manufacturing lightweight flexible solar modules with conversion efficiency of 14 per cent.
Midsummer previously announced selling its compact DUO solar cell manufacturing system to an Asian company. The system is in production and is producing flexible solar modules at record levels, according to the company. The flexible solar module is made of cells from the client's factory in Asia.
Midsummer's client has now have passed 14 per cent in conversion efficiency (corresponding to 15.4 percent aperture area efficiency). The modules tested at the independent research institute Chemitox Inc. in Yamanashi, Japan, were made in the client's mass production line in normal production conditions and with standard process settings with a CIGS layer less than 1 micron in thickness.
"I am happy to announce that our solar modules indeed have increased the conversion efficiency to 14 per cent as verified by an independent testing laboratory. The DUO system is now the most widely spread manufacturing tool for flexible CIGS solar cells," said Sven Lindström, CEO, Midsummer AB. "We have yet again shown that we are the leading provider of turnkey production lines of flexible thin film CIGS".
The Midsummer DUO is a compact, fully automatic deposition system for CIGS solar cell manufacturing. The solar cells are manufactured individually and then strung together into modules just like crystalline solar cells. This way, lightweight flexible modules can easily be made in any size and shape.
"As always, our clients can rely on Midsummer being at the forefront of advanced solar technology and efficiency requirements. Our objective is that our technology shall be a leader in the market segment of lightweight, flexible solar modules", said Sven Lindström, CEO, Midsummer. "Lightweight, flexible solar modules are the future of solar energy since they fit in to the "˜distributed energy' trend and can be fitted on buildings, vehicles etc."
