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power, and processing expertise to CharIN, along
with its strong relationships across the industry that
complement and supplement the already-strong CharIN roster
of members and partners,” said Claas Bracklo, Chairman of
the CharIN e.V.
“Standardizing the technical setup and charging of hybrid-
electric and electric vehicles globally will reduce range anxiety
and be a powerful accelerant for EV adoption,” said Marco
Monti, Executive Vice President Automotive and Discrete
Group, STMicroelectronics. “ST’s long experience, leadership,
and broad portfolio of products in the automotive and power-
electronics sectors, together with our recognized strengths in
sensors, secure payment and secure communication, mean
that we are perfectly placed to contribute strongly to the
CharIN initiative and to help meet industry needs by delivering
the technology to the market at the appropriate time.”
Midsummer, a leading supplier of
production lines for cost effective
manufacturing of lightweight flexible
CIGS solar cells, today announced
that its Asian client now manufactures
lightweight flexible solar modules
with conversion efficiency of 14 per
cent.
Midsummer previously announced
that they have sold their compact DUO
solar cell manufacturing system to an
Asian client. The system is in production and it produces
flexible solar modules at record levels. 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% 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
Swedish solar energy expert Midsummer’s client now produces
lightweight flexible solar modules with conversion efficiency at 14
per cent
film CIGS”.
Inexpensive lightweight flexible solar
modules
The Midsummer DUO is a compact,
fully automatic deposition system for
CIGS solar cell manufacturing. It is
designed for operational stability and
superior material utilization.
With the production system from
Midsummer, the solar cells are
manufactured individually and then
stringed together into modules just like crystalline solar
cells. This way, lightweight flexible modules can easily be
made in any size and shape.
A dry, all-vacuum process has less stringent requirements
for clean rooms. Avoiding cadmium in the manufacturing
process is desirable for the sake of the production staff and
also makes it easier to commence low cost manufacturing
of CIGS solar cells.
“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.”
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 15