Sunfilm AG has been established in Germany by Good Energies, a member of the COFRA group, and NorSun, a subsidiary of Scatec AS, to manufacture the first 5.7m2 tandem thin film photovoltaic modules on glass substrates. According to the companies, the modules will be manufactured on a production line supplied by Applied Materials Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of solar products using nanomanufacturing technology.
Applied's production line will feature new tandem cell technology, which combines an amorphous silicon top film to absorb short wavelengths of light with a microcrystalline silicon bottom layer to absorb longer wavelengths. These tandem cells are expected to deliver higher energy conversion efficiencies at a cost per Watt that is comparable to that of single junction technologies, the companies say. By coupling tandem technology with 5.7m2 substrates, Sunfilm expects to reduce the cost of solar panel manufacturing.
‘Solar panels based on this tandem cell technology will provide clients with electricity at a very competitive price and have countless areas of application,’ says Alf Bjorseth, NorSun's founder and board member. ‘This new technology will strongly support the continued growth of the solar energy market.’
