IPVEAupdate_032010_web

INTERNATIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION - WORLDWIDE VOICE FOR THE PV EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

update N o. 5 - M A R C H 2 0 1 0

NEWS

EVENTS

ARTICLES

WHITE PAPERS

MARKET DATA

JOBS

2010 The year

of consolidation?

• Meyer Burger & 3S merge • Roth & Rau take over OTB Group solar activities • Singulus acquires 100% of Stangl

PRODUCTS

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Solar subsidy romance over?

Germany backing away from breaks

also…

White papers

on optical inspection and non-contact laser soldering

Ten questions with the Top Brass

Latest technology breakthroughs Third-Generation PV: Inside look at organic

from teamtechnik and Reis Robotics

+

2010 SOLAR EVENTS CALENDAR

IPVEA UPDATE - MARCH 2010 T H E W O R L D W I D E V O I C E F O R T H E P V E Q U I P M E N T M A N U FA C T U R I N G I N D U S T R Y

Dear Readers, I am pleased to introduce our enhanced publication of IPVEA update. I would like to thank the outpouring of contributors that helped create this edition, which certainly can be considered one of the industry’s best resources of information. Moreover, our intent for this newsletter is to incorporate several articles produced

by IPVEA members to serve as a platform of direct communication to the PV manufacturing industry.

pledge to continue to refine this publication as your needs change and we look forward to your continued support. This document can also be found on the official website of the International PV Equipment Association at www.ipvea.org along with many other tools to compliment your business.

Included in this edition are our regular features that will help our members navigate through the maze of events that take place during the calendar year. We

All the best, Bryan Ekus, Managing Director International PV Equipment Association

Europe address: IPVEA International Photovoltaic Equipment Association P.O. Box 1610, D-63406 Hanau, Germany US address: IPVEA International Photovoltaic Equipment Association P.O. Box 771507, Orlando, Florida 32877, USA Tel: +1 407 856 9100 Fax: +1 407 856 9500 Managing Director: Bryan Ekus ekus@ipvea.com Registration Number: Court Hanau VR 31714 Disclaimer: IPVEA International Photovoltaic Equipment Association has used uses its best efforts to ensure that all the information in this publication is up-to-date. Any warranty to the correctness and actuality can not be assumed.

IPVEA International Photovoltaic Equipment Association reserves the right to make changes or additions to the information made available at any time without notice.

Copyright: © 2010 International PV Equipment Association. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in the IPVEA newsletter are not necessarily those of the International PV Equipment Association.

Editor in Chief: Bryan Ekus ekus@ipvea.com Managing Editor: Larry Jaffee news@ipvea.com

Please send anything that you would like to share via email to news@ipvea.com

Contents INDUSTRY BUZZ

NEW PRODUCTS

10

Latest equipment from Burkle, 3S/Somont/Pasan, Schiller, Rena, Reis, KUKA, Komax Solar, LayTec, and ISRA Surface Vision

NEW TECHNOLOGY

13

Latest processes and advancements in various aspects of PV production

MEMBER CHART OF WHO’S MAKING WHAT

20

Breakdown of Type of Cell/Module Technology Suppliers

INSIDE IPVEA

24

Oerlikon’s Sven Jarby new president of IPVEA; new member profiles; member survey on most popular trade shows

TEN QUESTIONS WITH… (NEW FEATURE)

27

teamtechnik’s Stefan Rosskopf and Reis’s Michael Wenzel on everything from what keeps them up at night to their favorite books

WHITE PAPERS

28

In-depth technical reports from ISRA Vision on Optical Inspection for PV Modules; and teamtechnik on Flexible Non-Contact Laser-Soldering for Solar Cell Strings

RESEARCH

32

Latest PV industry statistics from Plastics Electronics forecasting organic PV adoption

Design and layout: Doubletake Design Ltd. www.doubletakedesign.co.uk

ANALYSIS

Publisher: IPVEA International Photovoltaic Equipment Association

INDUSTRY CALENDAR

2 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

04

Valencia September convention preview; members’ news of deals, partnerships, equipment sales and installations

35

German Market focus by EuPD Research: government backing away from solar?

Upcoming solar trade shows around the world through November 2010

36

CONTENTS

HIGHLIGHTS

18

SPEAKER OPPORTUNITIES PV Production Forum 2010 Organized by 25th EU PVSEC and IPVEA The International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA) is now seeking speakers for PV Production Forum 2010’ for photovoltaic manufacturing technologies at the 25th EU PVSEC on September 7, 2010 in Valencia, Spain.

COVER STORY – The first quarter of 2010 has seen a flurry of announcements regarding mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures from IPVEA member companies. So IPVEA update asks the question, could 2010 be the year of consolidation in the solar PV equipment industry?

11

Q&A27

This forum addresses best practices and case studies that can assist PV production management, purchasing staff, and product managers how to increase throughput, efficiency, and save money in their production fabs.

Here are some PV Production Forum topics that may be of interest to attendees: * Raw material * Ingots & Wafers * Si Cells * Si Modules * Thin Films Cell Production

28

30

* Integration and Automation * Feedstock * Consumables (paste, wires, etc.) * Gases and Liquid Chemicals * Solar Glass and Encapsulation Do you have something to share?

32

If you are interested to speak at the PV Production Forum, we invite you to submit a proposal.

IPVEA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

Applied Materials AEG Power Solutions GmbH DECKER Anlagenbau GmbH ISRA VISION AG LayTec GmbH Tempress Systems B.V.

The deadline for submission is 15 April 2010 www.ipvea.org/index.php?id=338

Like to have your say? IPVEA would love to hear your news or views please e-mail news@ipvea.com MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 3

NEWS

INDUSTRY BUZZ 25th EU PVSEC Set for September in Valencia The 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (25th EU PVSEC) and Fifth World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-5) will take place in Valencia, Spain (Conference: 6-10 September 2010 Exhibition: 6-9 September 2010).

This world conference, which is supported by IPVEA, will unite the three most important scientific and strategic PV conferences: the 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, the 36th US IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference and the 20th Asia/Pacific PV Science and Engineering Conference.

WCPEC-5 will be the joint convention of the European, the American and the Asia/Pacific PV communities and will be hosted by the European PV community on the occasion of the 25th EU PVSEC. This unique PV solar gathering will constitute the world’s leading business-to-business and science-toindustry forum for the global PV solar sector.

goal of providing 20% of its energy demand using renewable sources by the end of this decade. This would translate into more than 35% of renewable electricity. Whether PV will reach a 3%, 5% or even 12% share will be influenced by the decisions of the Member States on the implementation of their renewable energy action plans, which are in preparation until mid-2010, just before the conference takes place. Similar ambitious plans are being brought forward in the US, Japan, China and India, ensuring global growth rates for PV in the coming years.” De Santi continues,

“I am confident that this Fifth World Conference will provide the best forum to present the latest progress in solar cell development and manufacturing. The visions of how massive deployment of photovoltaic systems will look in 10 years time will be outlined.”

For many years now, the EU PVSEC combines a very reputable international scientific conference with a leading PV industry exhibition and trade fair. Over five days of conference and four days of exhibition, new products and technical innovations from all areas of photovoltaics and from all over the world are on show.

2009 European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference Giovanni Federigo De Santi, Director, Institute for Energy (IE), JRC – European Commission

Dr. Giovanni Federigo De Santi, Director of the Institute for Energy (IE), Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, will be Conference General Chairman of this global PV convention. Dr. De Santi will be supported by the Conference Vice Chairpersons Prof. Makoto Konagai, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, and Dr. Robert Walters, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, US. De Santi states: “Certainly 2010 is a very decisive year for Photovoltaic Solar Energy in Europe. The European Union has set the

4 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

This global PV solar event is supported by various European and international organizations, including the International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA), the European Commission, UNESCO - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation Natural Sciences Sector, WCRE - World Council for Renewable Energy, and by an institutional promotional cooperation with the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). The Technical Programme is coordinated by the European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre. The 25th EU PVSEC & WCPEC-5 is realised by WIP - Renewable Energies.

EU PVSEC, IPVEA present PV Production Forum 2010 The European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) and

the International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA) will present the ‘PV Production Forum 2010’ for photovoltaic manufacturing technologies at the 25th EU PVSEC and Fifth World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-5) on 7 September 2010 in Valencia, Spain.

The programme of the PV Production Forum 2010, an educational workshop in PV production technology, will feature presentations on several topics including silicon and thin-film production, which will be led by IPVEA members and other industry experts. The PV Production Forum 2010 will provide an essential opportunity for networking across all segments of the PV production industry along with informing its participants about the changing dynamics, technologies and developments in the PV manufacturing supply chain.

This forum addresses best practices and case studies that can assist PV production management, purchasing staff, and product managers how to increase throughput, efficiency, and save money in their production fabs. Heinz Ehmann, EU PVSEC head of communications: “The PV Production Forum 2010 compliments our high-ranking scientific conference on photovoltaics by adding insights from a production oriented point of view.

Establishing the PV Production Forum as an integral part of the EU PVSEC reconfirms the fact that the combination of the world’s leading PV solar conference and a premium international PV solar trade show meets the expectations of the global PV communities.

We are looking forward to the start of this new forum.”

All conference manuscripts presented at the 23rd and 24th EU PVSEC are available online now WIP, organiser of the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC), announces that the Conference Proceedings from the 23rd (2008 in Valencia, Spain) and the 24th (2009 in Hamburg, Germany) EU PVSEC have now also been published online.

A digital identifier (DOI code) has been assigned to each paper in order to ensure unequivocal and permanent identification

NEWS

INDUSTRY BUZZ and citability of the online publication. This identification system is administered by the German National Library of Science and Technology.

A website has been created to enhance the availability and citability of the scientific papers presented at the EU PVSEC and constitutes a comprehensive source of state-of-the-art information and vital point of reference for researchers, engineers, decision-makers, entrepreneurs and all involved in the global PV sector. An extensive tool-set enables everybody to select the papers by topics, paper title or paper subject, authors, institutions, keywords or events.

relied on the domestic market and the governmental assertions, will be affected.

This will not only impact the solar cell and panel producers, but also the engineering sector.

IPVEA recommends measured and predictable steps relating to changes in the EEG. Modern production technology from Germany and Europe will continue to contribute to the reduction of production costs of solar cells and towards net parity rapidly.

3S installs turnkey 25MW line in Turkey

The scientific papers of the 23rd and the 24th EU PVSEC can be downloaded at www.eupvsec-proceedings.com. Further manuscripts will be published online after each future EU PVSEC. The complete Conference Proceedings of each EU PVSEC will continue to be available on CD-ROM.

3S Swiss Solar Systems has installed a turnkey 25 MW module line in Turkey. Using equipment from the 3S Group, Datatechnic International in Izmir is producing within just eight months after ordering the line TÜV-certified standard modules for the Turkish market and for export.

www.photovoltaic-conference.com

The 25 MW production line for solar modules was sold to Datatechnic International together with a transfer of know-how, a comprehensive training package, certification of the modules produced on the equipment as well as a maintenance and service agreement.

IPVEA supports petition of German solar industry The International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA) supports the petition of German Solar companies and the Federal Association of the German Solar Industry to scale back the level of the planned reductions with respect to the EEG. Following the regular reduction of 10% in the compensation for the electricity fed into the grid at the beginning of the year the new German Environment Minister Röttgen has intended further drastic cutbacks of the compensation rates for solar-generated electricity. Depending on the amount of installed capacity by the end of September 2010 a total decline of about 40% from the beginning of 2010 until the beginning of 2011 could result. This is a substantial change of course of the new government with respect to energy policy. Such a measure threatens the jobs of thousands of employees in the solar sector in Germany with an unpredictable impact on the rest of Europe. The technology will migrate to the cheaper Asian countries. The production, and hence, jobs will follow. In particular, medium-sized companies and suppliers as well as installation companies, which

Datatechnic, which has only recently entered the solar industry, is very satisfied with the comprehensive package of equipment and services from a single source. Pierre Aves Torrent, Datatechnic general manager of international, comments: “We are benefiting not only from first-class production equipment. The 3S experts supported us intensively, actively and within a very short time on location in Izmir while the equipment was being installed and in the development of our solar module production, including module design and certification.”

3S offers turnkey production lines with varying degrees of automation, attuned to the specific needs of the relevant module producers. With the aid of complete packages optimised by 3S, module producers save between six and nine months in “time to market” compared with projects from competitors. This enables rapid cash flow and has a positive impact on the return on investment.

With 25 MW, the line delivered to Datatechnic International is currently

unique in size in Turkey, where a significant market for the application of renewable forms of energy is emerging.

The production equipment is comprised of a an automatic string soldering machine from Somont, a laminating line from 3S Swiss Solar Systems, a module tester from Pasan as well as transport and buffer systems developed for an optimal production process. The unique Soft Touch soldering process from Somont enables extremely protective handling of the cells, prevents thermal stress at individual points and therefore ensures lowest breakage rates. With the patented technology of the hybrid heating plate from 3S Swiss Solar Systems, module manufactures achieve unique temperature homogeneity with shortest cycle times and high throughput.

All the module testers from Pasan exceed the norms in terms of precision and guarantee added value at the EBIT level.

www.3-s.ch

PV newcomer Bürkle expects 2010 rebound One year into the global economic crisis, plant manufacturer Robert Bürkle GmbH looks for growth of 30% in 2010 after a tough 2009, in which turnover dropped by more than a third compared with the previous year.

To achieve the turnaround, Bürkle plans to develop new business sectors, according to optimistic Bürkle manager Hans-Joachim Bender, noting that press and lamination experts kept their number of employees constant last year, which he said was a positive sign.

Bürkle had record sales of 115 million Euros in 2008. Many plant manufacturers would not have been able to survive last year’s plummeting sales. Bürkle’s group of companies maintain presences in Paderborn, Shanghai and Hangzhou as well as with sales and service companies in the US, Hong Kong, Poland, Slovakia, Taiwan and Brazil.

Established in the woodworking, PCB and plastic card sectors, Bürkle entered the photovoltaics market only two years ago, and quickly gained market share for its brand Ypsator by selling approximately 50 single and multi-opening laminators to Solarwatt, Q-Cells, Day4Energy, Scheuten MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 5

NEWS

INDUSTRY BUZZ Solar, among others.

Bürkle also became a preferred supplier for the Bosch Solar Energy project.

Bürkle in 2009 reviewed its range of products to improve the line concepts and reduce the quantity of input materials and staff requirements.

Last year the plant manufacturer invested around 5 million Euros for tool machines, computer systems and office equipment.

This year the company will invest 1 million Euros only for information technology.

Further investments are being considered.

The production facility in Shanghai will be extended from an assembly surface of 4500 m² to 7500 m².

Currently 488 staff members work in the head office in Freudenstadt as well as in the branch in Mastholte. Bürkle employs 680 staff members worldwide.

www.buerkle-gmbh.de

Diamond Wire Technology receives manufacturing export award Diamond Wire Technology (DWT), a global manufacturer of diamond wire and diamond wire saws serving the solar and semiconductor industries, received the 2009 Large-Sized Manufacturer Export Award presented by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

Lieutenant Governor Barbara O’Brien was on hand to present the official awards, which honor Colorado companies that have made outstanding contributions in exporting from Colorado. The presentations were made during the 2009 World Trade Day – “Trade in Turbulent Times: Great Challenge Brings Great Opportunity” held in Denver, Colorado.

“Diamond Wire Technology has sold internationally since 1979 and has grown export sales to almost 80% of its annual revenue in over 20 markets,” stated John Brenan, Diamond Wire CEO. “We are honored to have been selected for the Export Award and we will continue to strive for excellence in exporting practices.”

Diamond Wire Technology is the originator and market leader in diamond wire 6 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

cutting, with over 40 years experience. In addition to making diamond wire from 140 micron to 380 micron in diameter, Diamond Wire Technology maintains a line of diamond wire saws designed to enhance performance and lower cost.

www.diamondwiretech.com

machines for both the crystalline silicon solar technology as well as for the thinfilm solar technology. Combined with Stangl’s machines, Singulus offers the key technology for a crystalline silicon solar cell production line with wet-chemical, vacuum coating and wafer handling technology.

See page 18 for full article

Diamond Wire Technology changes corporate name Diamond Wire Technology, Inc., a member of Meyer Burger Technologies, has changed its corporate name to Diamond Materials Tech, Inc. (DMT). DMT, with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, US, is a leading and globally active, consumable and equipment manufacturer of diamond wire and diamond wire saws used within the solar (photovoltaic), semi-conductor and photonics industries.

The name change is accompanied by a re-branding initiative to represent our business within the Meyer Burger Technologies’ portfolio. The new brand name representing DMT is “Diamond Wire Material Technologies,” and more closely aligns with the company’s long-term strategy to advance its global presence and consumable product offerings.

John Brenan, CEO of Diamond Materials Tech, Inc. commented, “The corporate name change and rebranding initiatives are strategically significant for us and will enable us to enhance our position in the marketplace as a key component of Meyer Burger Technologies portfolio of companies.”

DMT has more than 100 employees.

www.diamondwiretech.com

Singulus acquires 100% of solar company STANGL Singulus Technologies AG recently announced that it has acquired 100% of Stangl Semiconductor Equipment AG, a leading provider of wet-chemical

www.singulus.de

Spire enters Phase II of cell contract; gets US government tax credit Spire Corp., a global solar company providing capital equipment and turnkey production lines to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Spire Semiconductor, LLC, has successfully completed Phase I of its High Efficiency Concentrator Solar Cell program with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and has been notified that NREL will authorise Phase II of the program.

Under the 18-month, $3.7 million cost share subcontract, Spire Semiconductor is developing technology to cost-effectively manufacture 42% efficient, 500 sun, concentrator solar cells for concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems.

NREL develops renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices, advances related science and engineering, and transfers knowledge and innovations to address the nation’s energy and environmental goals.

Spire, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, separately announced that it has received confirmation from the Department of Energy (DOE) that under the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (MTC) program, its application has been approved for the allocation of over $2 million to expand its III/V Compound Semiconductor Foundry facility in Hudson, New Hampshire.

Spire Semiconductor passed through the NREL Stage Gate Review, a go/no go decision point to validate the progression of the project and assure that progress meets contract objectives. These objectives include estimates of key performance parameters of competitive Levelized Cost

NEWS

INDUSTRY BUZZ of Energy (LCOE); annual manufacturing capacity potential; direct manufacturing cost; and cell Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). PV cell performances of greater than 39% efficiency were achieved during Phase I.

“We are very happy to be given the go ahead with our program,” said Roger G. Little, Spire chairman and CEO. “It validates our efforts toward developing a proprietary gallium arsenide (GaAs) concentrator solar cell that exceeds anything commercially available.”

Little concluded, “The PV industry will continue to grow significantly this year and well into the future. CPV systems offer many advantages. With Spire’s strong position in the solar industry, the availability of our custom GaAs concentrator will put us in a good position to help our customers meet this market demand.”

Little concluded, “With the PV industry continuously growing, the availability of this tax credit will allow us to grow along with it.

This opportunity will allow us to establish a state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing line to produce our proprietary triple junction high efficiency cells and support our growing CPV customers.”

Spire was voted 2009’s Turnkey PV Manufacturing Line Company of the Year by Solar, a PV Management Magazine.

www.spirecorp.com

Targray reports signficant silicon market share in ’09 Targray Technology International, Inc. a significant increase in the Company’s 2009 Silicon sales volume. Shipments of solar grade silicon, ingot, and off spec or scrap materials have increased by 128% over 2008, validating Targray’s growing position as a trusted partner and key source of Silicon supply to the industry’s largest solar wafer and ingot manufacturers.

Howard Alter, Director of Targray’s silicon division states: “Although 2009 was a

difficult year for the PV industry, Targray’s silicon volumes increased significantly. We attribute this in part to Targray’s comprehensive global infrastructure coupled with a dedicated team of Silicon specialists which enables us to procure almost any type of silicon material to meet our customers’ requirements.”

M+W Zander becomes M+W Group

Targray has been involved in the distribution of solar grade Silicon to wafer, cell and module manufacturers in the PV industry since 2006. Today, the Company is a leading supplier of silicon raw materials, as well as all the major consumable used in this industry, including metallization pastes, POCl3, silicone sealing, potting and adhesives, interconnect wire, solar glass, and more.

The international engineering company M+W Zander goes into 2010 with a revised brand identity. With effect from 1st January 2010 the company will appear under the new common trade name ‘M+W Group’ and the logo illustrated here. The two affiliated companies, ‘LSMW’ and ‘Lang und Peitler Automation’ will also take on the new brand identity and will trade under the new name from the start of the new year. LSMW will then be called ‘M+W Process Industries’, Lang und Peitler Automation ‘M+W Process Automation’.

“We expect 2010 to be an even stronger year,” adds Alter. “As solar markets rebound worldwide, Targray’s silicon transaction volume stands to expand significantly.

Targray separately announced it has signed a global agreement with Momentive Performance Materials Inc. that names Targray as a Momentive global channel to market for solar industry-specific silicone potting, sealing and adhesive products.

Under the terms of the agreement, Targray will supply solar module manufacturers in the photovoltaic industry with Momentive’s high quality silicone products.

Momentive is a global leader in silicones and advanced materials, with a 70-year heritage of being first to market with performance applications for major industries that support and improve everyday life. The company delivers the science behind the solutions, by linking custom technology platforms to opportunities for customers.

“Targray has solar industry expertise with a global offering and strong technical capabilities,” said DM Shin, Momentive’s global marketing director, engineered materials. “The relationship between Momentive and Targray will result in increased productivity for our customers, while delivering better service to this growing industry segment.”

The Targray and Momentive co-branded silicone sealing and potting products are being widely launched into the Photovoltaic market beginning in Q4 2009.

www.targray.com

From 1st January 2010 M+W Zander will have a new name and logo: The new trademark stands for the global cooperation network of all business units

Presenting the new trademark, M+W Zander CEO Jürgen Wild explained: “The two interlinked letters M and W also stand for the global collaboration network of all our business units, making it possible for us to offer our customers the most efficient solution.” Wild pointed out that international collaboration is increasingly a success factor for M+W Zander in global competition.

www.mwgroup.net

Singulus receives major contract Singulus Technologies AG announced an order contract worth approximately 19 million Euro from a European solar cell manufacturer for production systems to manufacture a new generation of thin-film solar cells.

Singulus had developed the new processing system for thin-film solar technology in close cooperation with this customer during 2009 and has now been able to secure the order to build these systems.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 7

NEWS

INDUSTRY BUZZ Roland Lacher, Singulus CEO, commented: “This contract is a major breakthrough for Singulus as we seek to establish a second business field of machinery and equipment for photovoltaics. We have been working very hard over the past few months to develop new, ultra-cost-effective machinery concepts for solar technology and we are now planning to bring them onto the market this year. Singulus making transition towards supplier of complete production systems for solar cell production.”

Singulus recently announced this broader strategy at the Investors Day in Munich.

www.singulus.de

Group OPDE signs Mexican deal for 45MW solar PV farms Spanish solar photovoltaic multinational Group OPDE recently signed with the Governor of the Mexican state of Durango, a partnership agreement that includes the construction during 2010 to 2013 of solar photovoltaic plants totaling an output of 45 MW. The first 1 MW power-solar power plant will be built at the Logistics and Industrial Park in Durango (CLIP) and will be fully operational in 2010.

The agreement also envisages the establishment in the area within three years of new branches of the companies that make up the OPDE group: OPDE, MecaSolar and Proniso.

In addition to the Governor of Durango, the signing ceremony was also attended by Esteban G. Rosas; the Under Secretary for Economic Development in Durango, Ruben Ontiveros; the general coordinator of the promoter for strategic projects in Durango and Theodore Krap; adviser for strategic projects of the Government of Durango.

The first of the 1 MW photovoltaic solar farms that OPDE will build in the area will be located in the Logistics and Industrial Park in Durango (CLIP) and will be fully operational in 2010.

Durango is one of the 32 federal states of the Republic of Mexico. It is located north of the country and has a population of 1.5 million inhabitants. Noteworthy are the excellent state communications, thanks to heavy investment in infrastructure, enabling

8 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

communication with the Pacific and Atlantic.

During the visit to Durango and Mexico D.F. Executives from Grupo OPDE also met with Hector Alfonso Díez Rubio, President of the Business Coordinating Council of the State of Durango, with representatives of BANOBRAS (responsible for the financing of strategic projects in Mexico) and the CRE (entity responsible for energy regulation in Mexico).

The visit and the signing of the partnership was partly the result of the visit by the Governor to company headquarters in Navarra last year and where he had the occasion to ascertain firsthand the history, skills and experience of the Spanish multinational.

With this agreement, Group OPDE reinforces its presence on the American continent, where it already operates in Sacramento, California (USA) and where various engineering and supply projects are underway. Greece, Italy, Germany and France are other key countries in OPDE´s commitment to internationalisation.

OPDE specialises in the global promotion and construction of solar photovoltaic plants. MecaSolar focuses its activity on the design and manufacture of solar trackers and fixed structures. Proniso is dedicated to providing REC and TRINA modules, fixed structures and tracking, as well as SMA inverters, becoming the first international distributor of these leading global brands in the sector, with over 100 MW of modules and 140 MW of inverters supplied.

OPDE currently employs 300 people. The plants promoted and built directly by OPDE in the 2004-2009 period, have together a total capacity of 115 MW, producing an equivalent annual energy consumption of 75,466 households (225 GWh). The OPDE Group companies in 2008 exceeded €560 million of consolidated turnover.

www.opde.net

Proinso supplies 1 MW of trackers for PV solar project in California The Spanish company Proinso – part of Group OPDE and specialists in the distribution of modules, inverters, trackers and fixed structures for photovoltaic systems – will supply 1 MW of MecaSolar2axis solar trackers for a solar photovoltaic

project located in the California (U.S.) district of Madera.

The 2-axis trackers supplied for the project will be manufactured entirely in the new MecaSolar factory in West Sacramento (California), using local suppliers and labour. The components of the trackers are American UL certified (Underwriters Laboratories), making it easier for MecaSolar products to obtain the UL certification, and is the only company in its sector acquiring this type of product.

Proinso trackers in California President Obama has made solar energy a priority under his administration

The solar project, which will become the largest 2-axis project undertaken by the company in the state of California, will be completed with the addition of REC 220 modules, and SATCON model 500 inverters for the start-up. Using MecaSolar trackers, the calculations estimated by the SOLAR PV TRACKER Program for calculating energy estimates that in the district of Madera and with an annual average radiation at 0° of 1,850 kWh/m2 year, 2,317 kWh / kWp power output will be obtained for a Ratio Performance of 86%.

With the order of this project, the Spanish company has started to manufacture their trackers entirely in the 6,000 m2 MecaSolar factory in Sacramento, Calif. This will facilitate and increase the entry of their products within President Obama’s plan to support investment in renewable energy power products manufactured in the U.S. According to Proinso, the company will close in coming weeks a distribution agreement for another project with similar features and output, also in California. The forecasts are that MecaSolar will reach the 30 MW figure for trackers manufactured in the new MecaSolar plant in West Sacramento, employing more than 70 people in the 2010-2011 period in the four companies of the group established in the U.S.

NEWS

INDUSTRY BUZZ Proinso is a company from the OPDE group specialising in engineering and supplying photovoltaic solar plants. In 2008 the company distributed a total of 80 MW in modules and 140 MW in inverters and trackers. Proinso has distribution agreements with Trina and REC for modules, with SMA for inverters and is responsible for engineering and distribution of MecaSolar fixed structures and trackers. It is the leading global distributor for Trina modules, as announced by the manufacturer themselves on 29 October, with the signing of an agreement to supply over 108 MW for 2009-2010. It is also the leading distributor of SMA inverters and expects to close 2009 with over 140 MW in orders to the German manufacturer. It has offices in Spain, Italy, Greece and U.S. In 2008, Proinso turnover amounted to €460 million.

www.proinso.net

Future Photovoltaics – a new digital technical resource Coming soon from Mazik Media and published in association with IMEC, CNSE, SVTC and IPVEA (to name a few), Future Photovoltaics is a new digital technical publication and website focusing on research, development, manufacturing and pathfinding. Authored by industry experts only, Future Photovoltaics will cover polysilicon (mono & multi); thin film (all); concentrated PV (including modules/panels and associated systems) – presented from the R&D viewpoint.

www.futurepv.com

PV-Tech.org and Photovoltaics International Lite have reached China China is becoming increasingly important in the manufacturing of solar panels. Have you ever wondered how to communicate your technical product messages to the Chinese manufacturers?

Starting in February 2010 pv-tech.org

started translating and creating solar production news in the native Mandarin language. A new part of the website and a weekly e-newsletter can help you get your marketing messages across to key decision makers in China. In May 2010 Photovoltaics International will produce it’s first ever technical publication in Mandarin which will be distributed at the SNEC in Shanghai.

Advertising and a limited number of editorial opportunities are available.

Exclusive offer for IPVEA members – If you do not have Chinese advertising copy available than you can elect to take a page of advertising in the supplement and use it as advertorial instead and we will get our professional translators to translate it for you at no extra charge.

To take advantage of this offer or to purchase space in any of our Chinese language media please contact dowen@pv-tech.org

www.pv-tech.org/news-cn/

Established in July 2001, the Sony Green Partner certification—which is renewable every two years—encourages suppliers to design and produce products with minimal environmental impact. Sony demands that all outside suppliers of components, devices and materials for Sony products comply with Sony’s Green Partner requirements by: • Maintaining and providing data on products and supplier products and material to demonstrate they do not contain hazardous substances such as cadmium, mercury and lead • Establishing procedures across manufacturing, quality, product, purchasing and sales operations to ensure materials used are environment friendly • Developing action plans to maintain standards and apply corrective actions as necessary • Passing audits of manufacturing facilities Targray Technology supplies a full line of innovative, technology-driven raw materials and consumables that enable customers to maximize solar cell and module efficiency.

Sony recertifies Targray www.targray.com as green partner supplier ISRA Vision expands Targray Technology International global presence with Inc, a leading global supplier of raw Vistek materials and cutting-edge products to photovoltaic/solar manufacturers, has been recertified as a Sony Green Partner based on its ongoing practices in sound environmental management. Following a rigorous audit conducted by Sony, Targray has demonstrated compliance with Sony’s stringent environmental guideline standards for ‘environmentally friendly’ products, production facilities and management systems.

ISRA Vision recently became an official member of IPVEA. After years of successfully delivering inspection systems to the PV industry, ISRA is setting a clear sign of its commitment to the up-and-coming solar market and its future growth. Because the PV market to-date has not even grown to a third of its potential, ISRA with its customers and partners, continues to help in the development of the solar industry.

“We’re very pleased to have been recognized by Sony once again for our longstanding commitment to environmental preservation,” said Andrew Richardson, President of Targray. “As at Sony, reducing our ecological footprint is part of Targray’s corporate culture. In addition to green products and environmentally conscious operational controls, we have established an Environmental Committee that continuously spearheads initiatives to further reduce our overall energy consumption, minimize our environmental footprint and promote awareness and education of environmental issues.”

The IPVEA organisation with its associated partners, provides the necessary platform to supply and support ISRA in realization of these ambitious targets.

As one of the leading global Machine Vision technology companies, already active in Europe, Asia and the Americas, ISRA recently expanded its global presence into Turkey and the Middle East.

In addition, Isra plans to join forces with Vistek, whose products and customers are complementary. The strategic objective is long-term company growth, growth in the promising future PV market. www.isravision.com MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 9

NEW PRODUCTS

LATEST EQUIPMENT

3S/SOMONT/PASAN

SCHILLER AUTOMATION

Ypsator Laminator

Human Machine Interface

TS 3600 Cell Tester

With the multi-opening laminator, Ypsator Bürkle aims to set trends in the solar module production.

All the individual machines from 3S Swiss Solar Systems, Pasan and Somont (former 3S Industries Group, now module section within the Meyer Burger Technology Group) have a uniform Human Machine Interface (HMI).

Users can therefore become familiar with the line more quickly and optimally. The induction time for new employees can be significantly reduced.

The TS 3600 from Schiller Automation is a fully automated solar cell tester and sorter.

It includes up to four different inspections like front / back side inspection, EL / PL measurements and sun simulation.

BÜRKLE

Problem Manufacturers are facing more and more the decline of module prices. Improving the productivity of the module production lines and the reduction of the operating costs resulting in lower costs per module is what is important.

Solution The multi-opening lamination systems can be adjusted to the capacity requirements of the customers very flexibly by adjusting the number of openings. A production capacity per line per year of 100 MWp, for example, is very easy to achieve with such a system.

This capability is realised on extremely small production surfaces.

The three-step process from Bürkle has revolutionized the lamination process and permits not only a higher production capacity with considerably reduced cycle times, but also the production of new materials due to the high flexibility of the concept and the selection of parameters, which could not be produced by means of the conventional machine concepts at all or only with considerably increased efforts.

In case of glass-glass modules, Bürkle was the first manufacturer to offered a special three-step lamination concept that avoids an overpressure at the edges and supplies the heating of the modules from both sides.

This three-step process enables stress-free lamination and minimizes glass breakage at high plant output rates.

Problem PV module production lines often consist of machines from several very different manufacturers. Every manufacturer makes use of its own steering and HMI system, which leads to a large variety of user interfaces and concepts within a factory. For the module producer, this means a great deal of time and cost for training of staff and the threat of operating errors due to a lack of familiarity with the user interfaces for machinery control.

Solution 3S Swiss Solar Systems, as a turnkey supplier of equipment across the entire value-creation chain, has standardised its HMI for all machine controls of the production line. The interface, which is intuitively operable, enables maximum operating safety with an extremely short induction time. Through the use of standardised hardware components, the stocking of replacement parts is made much easier for the customer.

Application Turnkey production lines for crystalline PV modules

Problem At the end of the cell production the product has to be classified and sorted. This classification has to happen in a precise and reliable way. The results have to be guaranteed for while keeping the costs low.

Solution The equipment is a very fast and reliable handling system that guarantees the highest position accuracy. The cells are precisely place on the internal transport system in a controlled and flat position. The transport system utilizing a revolving chain equipped with wafer grippers. This system ensures a continuous and reproducible transport of the cells to the inspection locations. The robust system in conjunction with the leading-edge probe card contacting lead to extremely stable and persistent operation. Soft handling reduces the possibility of breakage to a minimum and together with the robustness yields the highest total throughput. In this way, the most cost-effective tester and sorter system was constructed.

Application The TS 3600 can be used at the end of the cell fabrication line or the beginning of the module manufacturing. It has a throughput of 3,600 cells per hour and 48 classes.

Moreover, all Bürkle lamination systems are equipped with thermal oil heating systems that ensure a homogeneous temperature distribution on the entire useful lamination area.

Application The single- and multi-opening lamination lines from Bürkle are used to manufacture crystalline and thin-film solar modules.

www.buerkle-gmbh.de 10 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

www.3-s.ch

www.schiller-automation.com Format provided by Photovoltaics International

NEW PRODUCTS

LATEST EQUIPMENT

RENA

REIS ROBOTICS

KOMAX SOLAR

PVGlassCoat/PVFlexxCoat

Junction Box

Xcell X2

RENA’s PVGlassCoat and PVFlexxCoat are low COO solutions, offering high inline throughput. Its optimized Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) processes for CdS layers for the CdS deposition with excellent layer quality on glass and flexible substrates.

In recent years, Reis Robotics designed the most versified assembly systems for the module production and furnished many renowned solar module manufacturers with them. The more than 60 systems put into practice so far achieve an annual production capacity of approx. 2,5 GW. This corresponds to an annual production capacity of more than 12.500.000 modules.

Problem Solar cell handling often requires handoffs that can result in breakage.

Problem Compared to state-of-the-art batch processes, the RENA solutions offer: • higher throughput • significant smaller footprint • significant lower total cost of ownership Solution PVGlassCoat RENA, with its patented CBD technology is able to coat up to 1200 mm width substrates with a cycle time of 60 seconds.

Glass substrates are coated upside down by external heating of the substrates and transporting them above the surface of the chemical bath, generating smooth, homogeneous and pinhole free layers.

Applications are running with homogeneity of 5%. The footprint of a PVGlassCoat for a 10 MW/year application is 12,000 x 3,000 mm2 for a 60 MW/year 17,000 x 3,500 mm2.

PVFlexxCoat For flexible substrates RENA’s Coating tool has successfully passed the phase of pilot production and was enhanced to series production with line speeds of up to 1.25 m/ min. Flexible substrates are transported over a heated profile with the chemical solution on top.

Application Due to its modular design, PVFlexxCoat can be adapted to different production capacities (e.g., the footprint of a PVFlexxCoat for a 20 MW / year application is 11,300 x 3,000 mm2.

RENA is able to deliver the complete layer coating line, starting with DI water supply, using the CBD coating process and ending with waste water treatment and exhaust cleaning.

www.rena.de

Problem Efficient production of solar modules Solution Reis Robotics offers a performance range from technology development, development of new production methods, planning and putting into practice individual production cells, as well as delivery and commissioning of complete production lines. The degrees of automation range from manual, semiautomatic up to fully automatic production lines in the ranges thin film, silicon and solar heat.

Fully automated assembly of the junction box: The new system for fully automatic setting of the junction box is mounted on a platform completely ready for operation and thus, can be integrated in any existing production line with minimum expenditure. This new concept has many advantages compared to the conventional method. Due to this new concept, critical work steps before lamination are omitted: • foil stamping • unthreading of terminal lugs • no emerging EVA during lamination • no soiling of the membrane Application This new method also avoids the risk of damaging the membrane during lamination due to protruding lugs. Here, also an optimum of cost savings can be seen, since various manual and automatic work steps can be omitted and in addition also material savings are possible. Also the possible break rate is reduced, since no manual actions are required any more.

www.reisrobotics.de

Great consideration needs to be given to throughput, cycle time, temperature control, and increasing the user-friendly aspects of the machine.

Solution The Xcell X2 drastically reduces cell handling by using just one commercial SCARA robot.

Solar cell separations, optical alignment, spray fluxing, optical inspection and placement on the preheated chuck is all done in one robot motion.

The Xcell X2’S updated, high-speed induction soldering method is the most gentle and precise soldering technology available.

This technology more precisely focuses the induction field, combined with non-contact pyrometry, allows for closed-loop temperature control (PID) ensuring outstanding solder quality, uniformity and low breakage rates.

Application The Xcell X2 industry-leading spray fluxing technology allows not only accurate dispensing; it is also capable of targeting up to six spots per busbar. It has three cool down zones to smooth the temperature gradient, reducing thermal stress and improving solar cell yield. The machine features highly accurate preheated and heated chucks achieving a temperature variation within +/3°C relative to the set point, thereby reducing thermal stress across the solar cell. The Xcell X2 does not need numerous options; it has several new capabilities built in, such as adding Z-Bends in the ribbons between solar cells, by simply turning it on or off via the HMI control panel. Furthermore, the machine is equipped with an integrated SCADA system, which collects material data, solder recipe, machine performance and process variables for optimized use.

www.komaxsolar.com MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 11

NEW PRODUCTS

LATEST EQUIPMENT

LAYTEC

ISRA SURFACE VISION

Silicon Slicing Technology

SolR

Powerscan

KUKA provides fully integrated wafer lines and single machines for silicon slicing

SolR is a contactless optical monitor for in-line and roll-to-roll applications and it is capable of measuring all key parameters of all layers throughout the solar cell manufacturing process.

POWERSCAN is an advanced optical multipanel inspection system for automated inspection of glass, surface and laminate for the photovoltaic industry. Based on its standardised modules and software, ISRA has developed a special system setup to inspect thin-film solar modules right after lamination.

KUKA SYSTEMS

Problem With the increasing cost pressure on wafer and cell producers, production yield, product quality and machine uptime is getting more and more relevant. Next generation cells demand for higher wafer quality.

Solution KUKA’s products for slicing of silicon from brick to wafer integrated into a highly automated production facility are optimized to help manufacturers achieve this goal. With 40 years of history in silicon slicing, KUKA’s experts are helping customers worldwide.

The design of the machines utilizes advanced methods for improving stability parameters and long service life of the parts subjected to higher stress (bearings, shafts, wire guide etc.).

Application KUKA Advanced Wire Saw Machine AWSM 3800.6 is a fully automatic three wire guide saw machine for slicing hard and expensive materials such as ingots of Silicon, Germanium, GaAs, InP and other AIII-BV or AII-BVI materials, glass, ceramics, ferrites etc. into wafers.

Further services: - Ingot preparation: cropping and squaring - Slicing service as contract manufacturer - Fully integrated wafer lines

Problem To reduce production costs, it is essential to control the manufacturing process and keep the processes tightly within the specification limits.

Solution SolR provides direct feedback to the growth control system and statistical process control.

It helps to identify and correct anomalies, accelerate development cycles, transfer established processes to new lines and reestablish conditions after maintenance.

SolR is based on specular spectroscopic reflectance measurements (500-1000 or 5001600 nm) and measures in-line film thickness of each layer, provides TCO conductivity fingerprints, separation of refractive index and film thickness for SiNx, on-line process homogeneity checks, roughness and texture characterization for c-Si, poly-Si and TCO as well as in-line haze measurements.

Application SolR is applicable basically to all major PV thinfilm structures: CIGS- and CdTe-based thinfilm solar cells, a-Si/μc-Si tandem cells and anti-reflective coatings on mc-Si and c-Si solar wafers. A special communicating system of metrology stations takes reflectance spectra after every single deposition step with the optical heads positioned in the transfer lines between the deposition chambers.

SolR is adaptable to virtually any process system. The small optical heads can be installed even inside vacuum chambers.

The control computer communicates with the production line control to assure that measurements after each deposition step relate to the same position.

www.kuka-systems.com 12 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

www.laytec.de

Problem In order to be able to run PV manufacturing facilities 24/7, one of the keys to success is to be able to feed the manufacturing process with materials of only the highest quality.

In addition, it is necessary to protect and control these complex processes and to generate production data in order to be able to determine each available optimisation possibility so as to assure and increase the yield the customers are aiming for.

The original task of the POWERSCAN for Lamination Inspection is to detect laminated bubbles, shrinkage and excessive PVB. Solution POWERSCAN for Lamination Inspection is dedicated to the inspection of the lamination of thin-film solar modules, looking for bubbles, as well as edge defects and scratches on the glass itself. The modular product structure allows for an easy update of the existing POWERSCAN, should inspection requirements require it. Based on its modular product structure in regard to the cameras, illumination and frames, ISRA is able to solve nearly each inspection task of its photovoltaic customers. Additional features, such as stateof-the-art interfaces, inspection of flexible batches and high-performance inspection tasks within the thin-film solar industry are our daily business, today.

Application In the photovoltaic industry, the inspection of laminates is a requirement. Additional applications include: incoming glass inspection, edge inspection, coating inspections (such as TCO) and scribing inspection.

www.isravision.com

PRODUCTS

NEW TECHNOLOGY Oerlikon to debut new dry vacuum pumps, solutions Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum, a leading supplier of advanced vacuum systems, on 2 March its new range of dry vacuum pumps DRYVAC. The pumps will be first exhibited during the exhibitions Society of Vacuum Coaters, Orlando (USA), the Photon in Stuttgart (Germany) and the SNEC in Shanghai (China).

DRYVAC Sprinter and Enduro versions have optimized pumping speeds at all pressure ranges from 10-2 mbar up to atmosphere.

Therefore, they are ideal to provide fast pump down times. These models are specially suited for load lock applications.

a distinct competitive advantage to customers manufacturing solar cells. The result is the enhanced PV3000, a high throughput metallization line delivering sixsigma repeatability for capability in advance of current solar cell requirements.

Furthermore, DRYVAC Enduro pumps cover all typical features needed for process industry applications. Models from the DRYVAC Champion range have been designed to provide highest reliability in harsh process duties. These pumps are optimized for handling typical gases from the production process in the photovoltaic and flat panel display industry. They excel through their robust design and meet industrial safety requirements. DRYVAC pump systems and “-i” versions include housing, castors, frequency converter, PLC and touch screen display as standard.

Control and monitoring can be visualized via intuitive menu navigation, software and field bus.

Offering a compact footprint, the platform benefits from Heller’s experience in the field through the recent addition of a solar cell dryer, the PVD3000, equipped to handle increased product throughput over a reduced footprint and with reduced maintenance.

www.oerlikon.com DRYVAC Drawing on Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum’s extensive engineering and applications experience, and incorporating many large and small design innovations, all models from the DRYVAC platform have been designed and adapted to the special needs of processes in the photovoltaic production chain, coating applications and various industrial manufacturing processes. DRYVAC pumps and system combinations are rugged, reliable and durable, ready to fulfill stringent process requirements.

The customers profit due to the low energy consumption, the small and immensely flexible combinations, and the intelligent design for high system uptime.

DEK/Heller’s drying technology for solar cell metallization DEK Solar and Heller Industries have unveiled the results of a recent collaboration; a pioneering drying system that enhances the state-of-the-art PV3000 metallization line even further. The alliance between the market-leading screen printing and thermal technology specialists has enabled a significant breakthrough in solar cell production, incorporating precise thermal control, improved VOC management and reduced power consumption – all on a compact footprint.

The DRYVAC range comprises the following models • DRYVAC 650 S-i • DRYVAC 5000 RS-i plus multiple system combinations with roots blowers from the RUVAC series.

DEK is a global provider of next-generation technologies and process support to solar cell manufacturers with solutions that include modular metallization platforms, precision screens and materials applications used in back side field coating, current-collector pattern and termination deposition for photovoltaic substrate production.

www.deksolar.com

3S MegaSlate sun collector generates hot water

A global OEM for PV turnkey plants confirms: “The DRYVAC 5000 RS-i exceeds our expectations as to reliability, vacuum performance and user friendliness.”

• DRYVAC 650 S

Heller’s pioneering dryer concept is based on the principles of hot air convection drying, a process which is conducive to precision thermal control at lower drying temperatures. Offering a significant advantage over conventional IR-based dryers, the PVD3000’s drying technology creates improved air exchange within the process chamber which enables the dryer to manage the increased VOC volume associated with raised throughput. In addition, the specialist catalyst incorporated within the process chamber converts the VOCs to simpler compounds such as carbon dioxide and water. An important by-product of the catalyst conversion is heat which, in turn, is used to enhance the drying process and reduce overall power consumption.

The enhanced PV3000 - a high throughput metallization line DEK Solar and Heller Industries initially joined forces in a bid to create a technologyleading metallization line that offered

3S Swiss Solar Systems’ new generation of solar roofing, MegaSlate, is now also being offered for hot water production. With immediate effect, house owners can not only produce electricity with the panels from 3S but can also warm up used water and support their heating systems.

The further development of the MegaSlate system enables an integrated, -producing roofing system that combines photovoltaics MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 13

PRODUCTS

NEW TECHNOLOGY with solar heat. The system is ideal for new buildings and property renovation and optimal for the construction of buildings under the concepts of minimum energy consumption and additional energy generation. The new MegaSlate H&S heating panel was developed in collaboration with H&S Solar in Rebstein (SG). For the past two decades, H&S has been producing collectors and contributed its in-depth know-how to the development process.

The frameless photovoltaic and heating modules from Lyss enable large-surface, uniform solar roofing systems which are integrated with highest aesthetic appeal into the building shell. The roof window for MegaSlate developed together with the company stebler glashaus provides architects and planners with new design opportunities to bring light and sunshine into the living areas. In addition, the new generation of the proven MegaSlate panels includes significant innovations which enable even easier assembly of the MegaSlate solar roofing system. Among other things, the weight of a panel has been reduced from 22 to 17 kg.

Thanks to the latest technological developments in production equipment and the development of prices for solar cells, 3S has been able to reduce the production costs for the new generation of MegaSlate. “We have been able to pass on a cost reduction of 18% to our customers this year,” says Christian Renken, head of photovoltaic production at 3S Swiss Solar Systems. “The market introduction of MegaSlate II is running very successfully.

With the new industrial design, there are numerous advantages for the production of large unit volumes.” Cost reductions in the production of solar modules are an important step on the route to grid parity.

The lower the price, the more quickly electricity from a solar installation can be offered at the same cost as the general enduser energy price.

The proven basic principle of the 3S solar modules remains intact with the new generation of Mega Slate II, which can now be used for solar heating. 3S solar modules become a modern construction material that is integrated optimally into the building shell. The aesthetically appealing synthesis of a robust, weatherproof building shell and efficient, environmentally

14 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

friendly production of electricity is now supplemented by the function of waterheating.

The PV modules from 3S Swiss Solar Systems are certified by the TÜV and stringently tested for resistance to wind, hail and heavy snow loading, for rain impermeability as well as fire safety. The new MegaSlate solar roof is the first in-roof system that fulfills the European norm for roof covering. 3S provides a warranty for the PV modules with a performance guarantee of 90% of minimum output for 10 years and 80% of minimum output for 20 years.

The new generation of MegaSlate is being marketed worldwide through the distribution partners of 3S Swiss Solar Systems.

Innovations for PV module production 3S Swiss Solar Systems recently showed trendsetting technologies at the launch of a series of Technology Days at the 3S Service and Technology Center in Freiburg, Breisgau.

Customers and experts from the solar industry on 9 February 2010 exchanged their know-how in the process of laminating when they got together at the invitation of 3S Swiss Solar Systems, a group company of Meyer Burger Technology AG. The focus was on the latest technological developments for the industrial structuring of this key process in solar module production. On the route to future mass production of solar modules in gigawattproduction facilities, the process and machines used today are being further optimised and new machinery concepts developed, orientated to today’s and tomorrow’s new requirements of solar module producers.

3S recently put its laminating technology on display

Expanding know-how through active training, understanding the technological background, looking at the future and exchanging experience – at 3S Swiss Solar Systems, the current information requirements of customers were the focus of today’s event on the theme of laminating.

Nande van Aken, Director of Production Engineering for the solar module producer Solon, Dr. Ricardo Theron from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Dr. Ronald Lange, Chief Innovation Officer at 3S Swiss Solar Systems, as well as 3S Product Manager Alessio Maiocchi, provided the international guests with the latest status of knowledge in the field of laminating.

The process of laminating is decisive for the quality and lifetime of PV modules.

Solar module manufacturers need optimal laminating conditions which ensure that the module is protected against the weather, particularly moisture. Those conditions are today fulfilled by the latest laminating lines from 3S Swiss Solar Systems, which are based on a process with three chambers and enable a five-minute cycle in the production of solar modules.

“With our new laminating process, we have been able to significantly improve the one that has existed until now and achieve a cost-optimised, stable, reliable process with highest throughput,” says Dr. Lange.

“Nevertheless, the future of solar module production will very soon lie in production lines of gigawatt size. For those new dimensions, we are today developing the appropriate machinery concepts by going completely new ways.”

Industry insiders are aware of the unique experience of the experts from Lyss, who constantly, and for years now, apply their know-how from their own module production in development of the machines. It is precisely in this profound process-technical know-how that Ricardo Theron sees the key to successful development of production equipment that ensures shorter cycle times with highest quality and reduced costs. For Nande van Aken from 3S customer Solon, the main advantage is that joint development with 3S as the supplier leads to a product that can satisfy the needs of PV module producers down to the smallest detail.

www.3-s.ch

PRODUCTS

NEW TECHNOLOGY Singulus Technologies delivers silicon cell coating machine

Element is flexible inkjet printing system that allows for easy scaling from application development on a LP50 into a pilot scale or full production. The tool can handle product sizes of 5, 6 and 8 inches and has a throughput of up to 1500 wafers/hr.

Singulus Technologies delivered its first inline coating machine for anti-reflective coating of silicon solar cells with the product name Singular to a European manufacturer of silicon solar cells.

In 2008 Singulus developed a trend-setting concept for a coating machine for silicon solar cells with the product name Singular.

With the Singular coating machine the production of the anti-reflective layer on solar wafers is automated. With a particularly high quality of the antireflective layer measuring nanometers only, the light transmission and passivation properties are improved and therefore the energy efficiency of the produced cells enhanced.

The AR-coating with the Singular machine is an important component in the production process of solar cells and ties directly to the value-added chain of the wetchemical cleaning with Linea machines.

Linea is Stangl’s new inline machine for wet-chemical cleaning and etching of crystalline solar wafers with horizontal product transport. Singulus developed a proprietary, fully-automated wafer handling system for the integration and connection of the wet-chemical cleaning and etching steps. The wafer handling system is built in modules and automates the transport of the silicon wafer, e.g. from the cleaning process in a Linea machine to the AR-coating in the Singular machine.

www.singulus.de

OTB Solar, Trident bring cutting-edge inkjet to solar OTB Solar and Trident Solar recently struck a partnership for bringing innovative, cost-saving inkjet technologies to the solar market. As part of this collaboration, Trident’s proprietary 256Jet-S inkjet printhead will be integrated into OTB Solar’s PixDro open architecture inkjet platforms – including the LP50 research and development tool and the Elements pilot or full production system.

OTB Solar, Trident bring cutting-edge Inkjet to solar Trident’s proprietary 256Jet-S inkjet printhead has been integrated into OTB Solar’s PixDro open architecture inkjet platforms allowing the enhanced LP50 and Elements systems to provide the most cost-effective and precise deposition of jettable materials available for solar applications.

The innovative Trident inkjet printhead combined with OTB Solar´s specialty software allows the enhanced LP50 and Elements systems to provide the most costeffective and precise deposition of jettable materials available for solar applications.

“This collaboration brings together one of the leading printhead suppliers with a best in class inkjet printing technology platform,” explains Dr. Paul Breddels, CEO of OTB Solar and Steve Liker, business manager at Trident.

Trident’s inkjet printhead features stainless steel construction and a unique repairable design – that allows the nozzle plate to be disassembled, ultrasonically cleaned and reassembled. The inertness of the 256Jet-S printhead enables jetting of the more aggressive solar processing fluids such as phosphorous dopants and alkaline etchant.

These features allow the 256Jet-S printhead to last up to eight times longer than alternative inkjet printheads.

The unique open architecture of OTB Solar´s product line allows for more cost-effective development and production of solar cell technologies. The open architecture provides customers with enhanced flexibility in the production of solar cell technologies with different manufacturing requirements and allows for a variety of printhead and laser applications to be integrated.

OTB Solar currently offers two inkjet printing solutions for the solar market. The LP50 is an advanced research and development tool used for trials in the development of inkjet materials, processes and applications. The

OTB Solar featured its newly extended line of inkjet solar products at the IDTechEx Photovoltaics USA 2009 event held from December 1-4, 2009 in San Jose, California.

OTB Solar BV is a privately held company, based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that frequently introduces novel equipment designs and applications. This enables OTB Solar to contribute to continuous reductions in the cost per watt of Solar PV energy production.

The company’s product portfolio currently consists of the world’s only fully automated in-line turnkey production solutions, high throughput PECVD modules with a small footprint and a high accuracy screenprinter.

OTB Solar builds on a 20-year successful equipment development track record. The company’s history of innovation has been recognized by the World Economic Forum, which awarded OTB with the ‘Technology Pioneer Award’ on four occasions.

The company has a customer-oriented global organisation with sales and support locations in the US, Singapore, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and India. OTB has about 200 employees worldwide.

Trident Solar is a division of Trident, an Illinois Tools Works (ITW) company that is a global leader in industrial inkjet printhead and ink production. Trident Solar is dedicated exclusively to the design and production of durable, efficient inkjet technologies for photovoltaic applications.

Trident industrial inkjet has been a leading provider of industrial piezoelectric inkjet printheads and inks for more than 25 years.

The durable, stainless steel construction of Trident printheads makes them ideal for a wide range of industrial applications including photovoltaic, printable electronic, and display technologies. Trident has expert knowledge in how to design inkjet printheads and optimize ink jettable materials and fluids in order to maximize performance and reliability.

www.otb-solar.com www.trident-itw.com

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 15

PRODUCTS

NEW TECHNOLOGY KUKA Systems demonstrates automated PV module assembly More than 200 international guests checked out new products for automatic photovoltaic module assembly that KUKA Systems unveiled at its Augsburg plant at the end of January.

Together with other partners various stations for assembly, transport and control equipment were erected on an area of around 2,000 square metres to provide a live simulation of the automated production of photovoltaic modules. Various stages of the production process, such as glass stacking, foil application, the string test and layup, the lateral soldering station, the encapsulation process, output testing, sorting and packing were on show.

The following KUKA applications and process tools were demonstrated: • Automatic glass loading system using the KUKA RoboLoad • KUKA string test, measure and layup • KUKA RoboSheet with foil layup for front and rear foils • Automatic lateral soldering using the KUKA RoboX • Automatic trimming, taping and framing using the KUKA RoboFrame concept • Matrix test with electroluminescence • Module testing using the KUKA High-Pot-Test test station and KUKA SunSim MCE2010 with integral electroluminescence test • Semi-automatic KUKA Sol-Box can preparation station • KUKA RoboStack for the automatic packing of the solar modules in various classifications • KUKA ACS600 – the new stringer for the infrared soldering of solar cells with maximum precision and a monitored process window.

• KUKA AWSM 4800 – the fully automatic triple wire-sawing machine for cutting wafers KUKA Systems has already sold and successfully installed five module lines and there is a great deal of interest being shown by more customers from all over the world – with guests from the USA, India,

16 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

Korea, Taiwan and other countries attending the event to check the expertise of the Augsburg-based system manufacturer and automation specialist by inspecting the various work stations. Engineers and consultants from the Energy Division were also available during the event to provide additional detailed information about the systems.

“This type of open day provided us with a perfect opportunity to demonstrate exactly what we can offer”, said Alan Macdonald, Business Unit Manager at KUKA Systems.

“Anywhere else it is only possible to simulate such a massive system, but here we were able to demonstrate our skills to potential customers live.”

KUKA Systems, a Business Unit of KUKA Aktiengesellschaft in Augsburg, is an international supplier of flexible robotbased automation systems for the automotive, aerospace, energy and general industry.

A workforce of around 3,500 people work on ideas, concepts and solutions for automated production and the supply of products and services for almost every sphere of the industrial processing of metallic and nonmetallic materials.

In the Energy Division the company provides engineering services, automated production modules and complete turnkey production lines for the photovoltaics, solar heating and wind power sectors. The core technology of KUKA Systems is also used in the power plant and power systems engineering fields.

KUKA Systems can offer particular expertise where industrialised processes are required that provide quality, quality monitoring and availability, which is extremely important in solar module production, since uniform quality and high output levels are essential.

In addition, KUKA Systems is capable of producing systems on a scale of over 100 MW. The company’s products and services are marketed and sold globally through subsidiaries and sales offices in Europe, America and Asia. KUKA Systems recorded an order volume of around 615 million euros in the 2009 financial year.

www.kuka-systems.de

Schiller sets new benchmarks for cell throughput, yield and reliability Producing 3,600 cells per hour with an assured good part yield of 97.3% and a guaranteed operational availability of 95% make the TS 3600 from Schiller Automation currently the highest-performance and most reliable cell tester and sorter of its type, according to the company.

TS 3600 from Schiller Automation

Manufacturers of solar cells using this innovative tester and sorter will demonstrably increase their productivity and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO). The TS 3600 will enable an annual output of 100 MW to be achieved on just one line for the first time.

The prototype of the innovative tester and sorter drew a crowd at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EU PVSEC) and Exhibition in September 2009 in Hamburg.

Following further field testing and optimisation of details, this development by the handling and automation specialist from southwest Germany has reached the series production stage, and the first orders have already been received. The high cell throughput, reliability, quality of results and lower costs per tested cell will increase the efficiency of production lines and permit more dependable planning. The machine will have paid for itself in less than five years.

The line consists essentially of feed, tester and sorter modules. The innovative softhandling concept and the high precision of the measurement systems used ensure the consistently high performance features, even in long-term daily use. The central conveyor system in the tester unit is based

PRODUCTS

NEW TECHNOLOGY on a continuous conveyor chain. Once the cells are in position, they pass through all the test stations in a fixed, flat configuration.

This means the transfer processes, which are otherwise a normal feature of such machines and are critical for the cells, have been largely dispensed with. The performance measurements are carried out by means of a system of guided contacts applying minimum force, guaranteeing optimum measurement results. The outcome is an above-average good part yield and low breakage rates. The compact unit’s flexibility makes it compatible with any solar cell production line, and it can operate in both batch and inline modes.

Schiller Automation was established in 1978 and has since developed into a leading supplier of automation and system solutions, with operations worldwide.

Its focal areas are integrated production and handling systems for the complete automation of production systems for the manufacture of thin-film solar cells, the production of crystalline solar cells and of complex microelectronics products and assemblies.

Its headquarters are in Sonnenbühl on the Swabian Alb; service subsidiaries are located in Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt) and Suzhou (China).

www.schiller-automation.com

European Organic PV project ‘Hiflex’ relies on Dr. Schenk technology Dr. Schenk GmbH, a leading supplier of inspection and measurement solutions for the thin-film solar module production, recently participated in “Hiflex,” a European Commission-supported research project that aims to jointly develop a technology for highly flexible organic photovoltaics (OPV) modules.

Due to the use of commercially viable printing and coating techniques on roll-toroll material, this new PV generation can be produced even more cost-effective than today’s solar modules. Therefore, OPV is one of the most promising business areas, as interest in clean energy technology

continuously grows.

The research consortium has selected Dr. Schenk, based in Munich, Germany, as industrial partner for the Hiflex project for its expertise in the production processes of thin-film PV modules as well as roll-to-roll material and their quality requirements.

Schenk’s inspection and measurement technology has been developed over the past 25 years, delivering in-line metrology solutions to manufacturers of PV modules and web materials such as film, foil and nonwovens.

With the optical vision systems, SolarInspect for solar applications and EasyInspect for web applications, local material defects can reliably be detected along the production lines.

Additional monitoring and measurement evaluate and correlate metrology data from the various analysing steps, and receive an overview of, and optimize, the entire manufacturing process.

www.drschenk.com

Designers of IPVEA update and other IPVEA material Specialists in corporate brochures, newsletters, product literature and exhibition design

www.doubletakedesign.co.uk MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 17

Is 2010 the year of strategic partnerships?

The first quarter of 2010 has seen a flurry of announcements regarding mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures from IPVEA member companies. So IPVEA update asks the question, could 2010 be the year of consolidation in the solar PV equipment industry?

18 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

NEWS

COVER STORY Meyer Burger Technology Ltd and 3S Industries Ltd Meyer Burger Technology Ltd and 3S Industries Ltd announced in January that they became the solar industry’s first global technology group to offer the most important technologies of the photovoltaic value chain, from solar silicon to entire solar systems.

The combined group now offers fully integrated manufacturing solutions for the solar industry, comprising machines and automation systems, critical consumer goods, process expertise and local services from a single source. The companies said the combination of these core competences is unique in the industry, and will enable to significantly reduce costs along the entire production chain, with the aim of achieving faster grid parity for solar power.

The two companies say they are the perfect fit in terms of their technology portfolios and geographical presence, and have a global distribution and service network that is unique in the industry. The merger will create a fully integrated systems provider with 2008 pro forma revenue of approximately CHF 557 million and a workforce comprising of more than 900 employees.

Meyer Burger’s Peter Pauli, CEO, and Patrick Hofer-Noser, CTO and Deputy CEO of the newly formed technology group, spoke with the IPVEA update.

Continued on page 22

Roth & Rau AG takes over OTB Group’s solar activities HoRoth & Rau AG is to take over from the OTB Group B.V., Eindhoven, Netherlands, 100% of the shares in that company’s subsidiary OTB Solar B.V. (OTB).

OTB’s product portfolio consists of systems and technologies for the solar industry, especially antireflective coating systems and turnkey production lines for use in the manufacture of crystalline silicon solar cells.

Moreover, OTB’s core competencies also include high-rate PECVD coating processes and industrial ink-jet printing applications with interesting potential for use in the production of new, high-efficiency solar cells.

The acquisition will enable Roth & Rau AG to increase its market share as an equipment supplier for crystalline solar technology and in its turnkey business. What’s more, the company has secured access to new competitive technologies and is thus pressing further ahead with expanding its product portfolio.

The purchase price amounts to €35.5 million (including takeover of financial liabilities).

Of this sum, an amount of € 30.0 million will be settled by issuing new Roth & Rau shares by way of a capital increase in return for non-cash contributions. The capital increase

in return for non-cash contributions will be executed from Authorised Capital II to the exclusion of subscription rights. The new shares will be subject to a lockup period of 16 months following issue. The remaining €5.5 million will be paid in cash. OTB had orders on hand of around €50 million as of 31 January 2010. Accounting for the necessary restructuring charge, Roth & Rau AG expects to generate synergy effects in terms of costs and to see positive earnings contributions from OTB from the 2011 financial year onwards.

www.roth-rau.de

Singulus acquires 100% of solar company STANGL Singulus Technologies AG recently announced that it has acquired 100% of Stangl Semiconductor Equipment AG, a leading provider of wet-chemical machines for both the crystalline silicon solar technology as well as for the thinfilm solar technology. Combined with Stangl’s machines, Singulus offers the key technology for a crystalline silicon solar cell production line with wet-chemical, vacuum coating and wafer handling technology.

The goal is to strengthen the position for production equipment for solar cells over the next few years.

With the complete acquisition of Stangl, Singulus lays the foundation for an even faster expansion in the solar segment.

Stangl was the first acquisition outside of its traditional work area of optical production machines, enabling the company to gain important market access to the solar industry. “We will focus more intensively on the system business with production equipment for solar cells and leverage our know-how in coating and automation technologies as well as in the system business ,” comments Roland Lacher, CEO of Singulus Technologies.

“Customers’ demand is increasingly focused on improved cell concepts with higher efficiency and optimized production technologies with production costs declining at the same time,” Lacher adds.

“The required improvements affect all processing steps of both the silicon and the thin-film solar technology. Singulus and Stangl are cooperating with leading cell producers in the development of new technologies and new plant concepts.”

Singulus and Stangl plan to systematically expand their solar activities. New production expertise is integrated. The goal is to expand the position for production machines and systems for solar cells in the next couple of years and to benefit from the future growth in this market.

www.singulus.de MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 19

CELL / MODULE TECHNOLOGY

IPVEA MEMBER COMPANY 3S Swiss Solar Systems AG ABB Group ACI Ecotec GmbH & Co. KG AEG Power Solutions GmbH. AIS Automation Dresden GmbH AMB Automation GmbH Applied Materials Bekaert Advanced Coatings N.V. Bosch Rexroth AG DEK Solar GmbH DECKER Anlagenbau GmbH Diamond Materials Tech, Inc. (DMT) Dr. Schenk GmbH dr. schwab GmbH E+H Metrology GmbH Ferrotec Corporation GfE Metalle und Materialien GmbH Heateflex Corporation Hennecke Systems GmbH Hermann Otto GmbH Honeywell Analytics Innolas GmbH ISRA VISION Jonas & Redmann Photovoltaics Production Solutions GmbH KITEC microelectronic technologie GmbH Komax Solar KUKA Systems GmbH KUKA Roboter GmbH LayTec GmbH LPKF SolarQuipment GmbH M+W Group (presented by M+W Germany GmbH) Manz Automation AG Maschinenbau GEROLD GmbH & Co. KG Meier Solar Solutions GmbH Meyer Burger Technology AG Meyer Burger Automation GmbH Meyer Burger Swiss Slicing Systems Newport Corporation Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum GmbH Oerlikon Solar Ltd., Trubbach Oerlikon Systems Ortner c.l.s. GmbH OTB Group Pall GmbH Pasan SA Reis GmbH & Co. KG RENA Sondermaschinen GmbH Robert Burkle GmbH Rofin Baasel Lasertech Roth & Rau AG Schaeffler Technologies GmbH & Co. KG Schiller Automation GmbH Semilab Co. Ltd. Singulus Technologies AG SLS Solar Line Saxony GmbH Soleras Ltd. Somont GmbH Spire Corporation STANGL Semiconductor Equipment AG Stein Automation GmbH & Co. KG Synova S.A. Targray Technology International teamtechnik GmbH Tecnofimes S.r.l Tempress Systems TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH. Veeco Instruments, Inc. VITRONIC Dr.-Ing. Stein

VON ARDENNE Anlagentechnik GmbH

20 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

Wafer X X

Si Thin Film

Non-Si Thin Film

III-V

Other

Turnkey

Automation

X

X

X X

X

X X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X

X

X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X

X X X

X X

X X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X X

X X X X

X X

X X

X X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X X

X

X X

X X X X X X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X X X X X X

X X X X X

X

X

X

X X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X X X X X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X X X X

X X

X X

X X X X

X X X X

X X

X X

X

CELL / MODULE EQUIPMENT TYPE Thermal

Deposition

X

SILICON

Etch

Test

Module

Other

Wafer & Ingot Equip

X

X X X

X X

X X

X

X

X

MATERIAL PROVIDER

OTHER

X

X

X X

X

X

X X X X X X X

X

X X

X X X X

X X X X X X X X

X X

X X X X

X X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X X X

X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X X X X

X X

X X

X

X X

X X

X

X X X X

X X X X X

Source Information provided by VLSI Research

X X X

X X X

X

X X

X

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 21

NEWS

COVER STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 Meyer Burger Technology Ltd and 3S Industries Ltd merger How did the merger come about?

Both companies have a long experience in photovoltaics with a successful business record over the past twenty years.

The solar industry – in particular, photovoltaics – has majored over the last few years. From pioneering photovoltaics, the industry has developed into a pre-industrialised period, where cost management across the entire value-chain, global sales presence and global service organisations have become indispensable to stay ahead of the competition.

Both companies own the key technologies within their strategic business fields in solar-wafering and modul/systems. The entrance to cell is ensured by cooperations and own technologies. With this merger a unique portfolio of key technologies in photovoltaics was in reach to become reality. This situation set the stage to start first discussion about a common future.

When did 3S and Meyer Burger first cooperate in a strategic partnership?

Before the announcement on 9 December 2009 – ‘Merger among equals’ - there was no strategic cooperation between 3S and Meyer Burger Technology.

What benefits does such a merger bring to both companies?

First of all, both companies will profit from the key technologies and the profound industry process knowhow within their business fields. With the merger both companies will benefit from the concentration of high professional expertise and skills within new the group organisation as well as from their global sales and service networks. Last but not least the companies will benefit from greater power in the procurement and logistics.

What benefits does such a merger bring to the solar industry at large?

The key objective of photovoltaic is to reach grid parity within the next two to five years.

With the merger between Meyer Burger Technology and 3S, the industry will profit from a unique portfolio of technologies in PV. On one hand, all leading manufactures of quality solar cells will profit from this new portfolio of technology, machines, systems 22 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

and production lines and at the same time will benefit from the provision of fully integrated and automated production systems across the entire value chain of PV.

Where do you anticipate geographically (i.e., countries, markets) that the combined companies will now expand?

In the mid-term, we will be able to gain even more market shares in the emerging markets in China and India. In China, Meyer Burger is already very strong. This will ease the entrance to 3S to gain momentum with the provision of fully integrated Solar Modul production lines.

In parallel, India is a strong market of 3S as of today. The PV market in India is requesting highly integrated and automated PV systems. Meyer Burger will use the existing customer base of 3S to offer their advanced technologies in Solar Wafering with single equipment, semiand fully-automated production lines (i.e., BrickLine, as well as the in-house developed process management system for PV production lines).

Do you anticipate any redundancies of staff?

As of today we focus on the development of emerging markets, new technologies and the cost management across the entire PV value chain. In the course of the integration we will analyze the current processes of all group companies including the new members such as 3S, Pasan and Somont. If we locate some redundancies we will take appropriate actions.This merger was not a result of any restructuring pressure or dramatic need to cut cost. The objective of this merger was to combine two strong companies to become even stronger.

Do you anticipate any consolidation of facilities?

Not in the near term future. On a case-tocase basis, we will consolidate production processes or logistics if we can gain in momentum and efficiency to the benefit of our customers.

Do you see your customers building solar energy plants preferring to get all their needs from a vertically integrated entity, such as yours, or piecemeal their purchases from various partners who could perhaps give better prices on individual components?

First of all, we serve our customers. Our objective is to provide the best solution

that satisfies their custom needs. We focus on best quality, highest yield and best cost performance ratio. The customer has the choice to select from a unrivalled portfolio of advanced technologies, single equipment, semi to fully integrated and automated production lines all based on profound PV process knowhow and experience.

Once the two organizations (3S and Meyer Burger) became familiar with each other’s corporate culture and individuals (top executives, engineering staff, etc.), were there any surprises?

No.

What was the due diligence process like?

Both companies did a serious DD to ensure, that investors get a maximum value from the merger.

Do you anticipate that your competitors will also think similar mergers?

The PV industry will go through a phase of consolidation in order to achieve their objective in cost management and grid parity. Thus, we might watch different activities in the market.

Isn’t that the traditional evolution of a maturing industry?

Yes.

Are there economies of scale that can be realised?

Yes, we do expect economies of scale ­– particularly in the strategic procurement, logistics and productions processes.

What specific core competencies did each party (3S and Meyer Burger) bring to the table, specifically, in terms of perhaps what type of complimentary technology?

Meyer Burger covers the full spectrum of core technologies in the beginning of the PV value chain with machines and systems to process/manufacture high-grade solar wafers, including advanced cutting and slicing technologies, automation and robotics, the handling and transportation of delicate solar-wafer and sophisticated metrology to increase the yield and productivity while reducing the total cost of ownership across the PV value chain.

3S owns the core technologies and the process knowhow to provide world leading and fully integrated and automated production lines for SolarModul production. In addition, Meyer Burger has successfully entered a strategic marketing and distribution cooperation

with OC Oerlikon Systems for the coating system Solaris. This cooperation combined with our cell handling and automation technology puts us in a preferred position to access the cell process in PV. Both companies will profit from the experience within the respective process that will be to the benefit of our customers and the industry to reach grid parity.

How did Meyer Burger come to assume the marketing responsibilities for Oerlikon’s Solaris?

Oerlikon Systems and Meyer Burger signed a strategic distribution, cooperation and license agreement for the Solaris thin-film coating equipment. As part of the agreement, Meyer Burger’s sales & service organization will represent the Solaris for crystalline Silicon PV application in most regions, such as China, Taiwan, Europe, Middle East, India & the Americas. Furthermore, the two technology firms will work together to further increase the capabilities of the Solaris system for antireflective coatings and to develop other innovative process steps within the solar cell manufacturing process.

Please update us on any new technologies for cell storage resulting from the merger.

New technologies are under continuous observation. As of today, there is nothing to be announced.

How have the financial markets greeted the newly formed Meyer Burger Technology Ltd in its young life, thus far?

Very positive.

Any more acquisitions by Meyer Burger Technology Ltd expected?

We will be actively participating in the consolidation process of the PV industry and thus maintain regular exchange of information with leading companies in the industry. However, we will not announce any specific names.

Thanks for the interview.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 23

INFORMATION

inside Welcome to inside IPVEA, our regular section where you can find the latest news, views and information from inside IPVEA. In this edition we welcome six new companies to IPVEA as well as a new president and provide interesting statistics on Global Standardization and most popular PV shows for 2010 (as polled on ipvea.org). If there are any features you would like to see added to inside IPVEA please email news@ipvea.com

NEW IPVEA MEMBERS AEG Power Solutions GmbH Emil-SiepmannStr.32 D-59581 Warstein/Belecke, Germany Tel: + 49 2902 763 0 Fax: +49 2902 763 680 http://aegps.com AEG Power Solutions is a power supply provider offering one of the world’s most comprehensive portfolios of premium power supply systems and solutions.

The company has its main competence and manufacturing center in Warstein, Germany and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. AEG Power Solutions’ regional office in Dallas, Texas, established in 2001, specializes in sales, engineering and service for North America. The group has been operating as an independent, global supplier of power solutions since 2005. It employs 1600 people in 16 countries, including more than 160 service and installation engineers to provide comprehensive customer support and service.

Applied Materials www.appliedmaterials.com Applied Materials is the world’s leading supplier of PV manufacturing equipment, offering systems for both thin film and crystalline silicon solar products. Our primary goal is to help solar manufacturers drive down cost per watt in order to rapidly grow the solar industry and make solar electric power increasingly affordable for everyone, everywhere.

As the largest factory equipment supplier to the highly competitive global semiconductor and flat panel display industries, with over 40 years experience,

24 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

Applied’s products are engineered for demanding, 24/7 factory environments, not research labs. No other company offers the depth of technology, global service capability and proven experience of Applied Materials. Our industryleading expertise in automation, process technology and materials science can take solar manufacturers to a new level of excellence and help cut cost per watt.

DECKER Anlagenbau GmbH Wegscheid 1a, 92334 Berching Tel.: +49 (08462) - 20 06 17 -13 www.decker-anlagenbau.de DECKER is experienced in processing of various silicon materials like ingots, chunks, wafers and granule. Our profound knowledge in cleaning, etching, drying, recycling, handling and waste gas treatment is appreciated by customers in the semiconductor and PV industry.

ISRA VISION AG BU Integrated Systems Schoemperlenstr. 12a 76185 Karlsruhe, Germany Tel.: +49 (721) 5603-0 www.isravision.com ISRA VISION - Intelligent Systems Robotics and Automation - continues to be a leading global supplier of high-speed surface inspection and quality inspection systems after more than 20 years. The systems are used to monitor the entire process chain from incoming materials inspection to final inspection. Our goal is to provide the entire production chain with standard solutions. Thousands of systems installed successfully confirm the benefit of many years of experience and technological competence. At the

end of 2009, ISRA employs more than 360 employees at close to 20 locations in Europe, five locations in North and Latin America and six locations in Asia.

As a global company, ISRA VISION guarantees its customers excellence in every aspect: from consulting, service, and confidentiality, to complete solutions and worldwide support.

LayTec GmbH Seesener Str. 10–13 10709 Berlin, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)30 39 800 80-0 www.laytec.de LayTec is a major provider of integrated optical metrology systems for thinfilm processes in the compound semiconductor and photovoltaics industry.

Tempress Systems B.V. Radeweg 31, 8171 MD Vaassen, The Netherlands Tel: 31.578 699 200 www.tempress.nl Amtech - Tempress Systems is an expert source in solar solutions and active in the industry since 1969. All our equipment is installed and serviced through our worldwide network in the PV industry. We have strong cooperation with well-known research partners in the industry.

We provide our customers with stateof-the art equipment and advanced processing. The continuously improved processing of our key equipment in your production line will set the roadmap to higher efficiencies on your solar cells. In order to achieve a competitive way for our customers to manufacture their solar cells, we have an advanced roadmap to optimize our systems continuously.

INFORMATION

INSIDE IPVEA SURVEY Most Popular PV Shows 2010 for IPVEA Members

Most Popular PV Shows 2010 for IPVEA Members(as of 14.01.10) (as of 14.01.10) 50

46

40

37 31

30

26 21

20

Oerlikon’s Sven Jarby new President of the International PV Equipment Association Hanau, Germany – 25 February 2010. HansJuergen Stangl of Stangl Semiconductor Equipment AG, Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, due to personal reasons, has stepped down as President from the IPVEA Board of Directors. Current Vice President of the Board of the Directors, Sven E. Jarby from Oerlikon, Pfäffikon, Switzerland, has been appointed to serve as president until next elections planned for September 7, 2010 during the 25th EU PVSEC in Valencia, Spain.

Sven E. Jarby also noted that the IPVEA Board would soon be inviting members to apply as candidates for the open Board position. Interested members can apply by contacting the Association’s Managing Director, Bryan Ekus (ekus@ipvea.com) Jarby, along with the other members of the IPVEA Board, expressed their sincere gratitude for Stangl’s involvement and guidance since the foundation the Association in early 2008.

SURVEY IPVEA Industry Survey Should global standardization be a top priority for the PV Industry?

Yes No

68.1% 31.9%

10

0

17

9

8

1

17

2

3

4

5

6

8

9

7

8

8

9

10

11

12

IPVEA Members 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

WFES Abu Dhabi, UAE Photon’s PV-TECH, San Francisco, USA Expo Solar, Kintex (Seoul) South Korea PV Expo 2010, Tokyo, Japan Photon’s PV-Tech, Stuttgart, Germany SNEC PV Power Expo, Shanghai, China Intersolar, Munich, Germany Semicon Russia, Moscow, Russia Intersolar, North America, San Francisco, USA EU-PVSEC, Valencia, Spain Glasstec, Dusseldorf, Germany Solar Power International, Los Angeles, USA

IPVEA Helping to Plan US’s Biggest Solar Show

of SPI’s 2009 full conference attendees, asking them to rate a randomly selected subset of proposed session topics.

IPVEA is on the planning committee of Solar Power International 2010, the U.S.’s largest solar industry, scheduled for this Oct. 12-14 in Anaheim, Calif.

Based on the responses, the total number of sessions will again be reduced to 50, which the planning committee will whittle down to a final 35, following a second survey.

The committee met on 26 January to review last year’s convention, and come up with ideas on how the conference could be improved this time around.

The committee has focused on what’s anticipated to be currently the industry’s most important and relevant topics.

There are 105 proposed session topics, which are now being narrowed down by track leaders. The goal is ultimately too end up with about 75 sessions, which will then be included in a survey to be released to all

Committee chair Stuart Raper, who also serves as education associate of the Solar Electric Power Association, urges IPVEA members to be on the lookout for both of the above-mentioned surveys. She can be reached at sraper@solarelectricpower.org MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 25

SNEC 4th (2010) International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference and Exhibition

“Develop New Energy, Benefit All Mankind”

Key Focus: How to make the photovoltaic industry obtain a rapid, steady and sustainable growth through enhancing international exchanges and cooperation, accelerating the technology upgrading, guaranteeing the high quality of products, and promoting the application market expansion, especially under the trend of developing a low-carbon economy as well as building a lowcarbon society.

The SNEC 4th (2010) International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference and Exhibition is hosted by the Shanghai New Energy Industry Association (SNIEA), while co-organized by IPVEA and 15 other influential organizations interested in the developing PV industry from all over Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

With over 3,000 PV experts and scholars, 60,000+ professionals in attendance, and 1,032 exhibitor booths covering 60,000 sq. meters, the 3rd Annual SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference and Exhibition held in 2009, broke the attendance record of PV exhibitions held in Asia. Currently, SNEC looks to break records again; presently expecting over 1,200 exhibitors distributed over 85,000 sq. meters, with great hopes that the World Expo 2010—which will be occurring simultaneously in Shanghai—will draw great crowds to the conference and exhibition.

Booths for this event are selling rapidly, with more still for sale starting as low as 2800 USD for IPVEA members. Raw indoor space is also available for as low as USD 280/sqm. VIP and other accommodations packages are available depending on one’s personal schedule and price range.

Exhibition (May 5-7)

Shanghai New International Expo Center 2345 Longyang Road, Pudong District, Shanghai, China

Move-in:

May 2 (13:00) May 3-4 (8:30 –16:30)

Move-out:

May 7 (9:00-18:00)

Hours of Exhibition (9:00-18:00)

Conference (May 7-8)

Shanghai International Convention Center 2727 Riverside Avenue Pudong District, Shanghai, China

Keynote Speeches: May 7

Opportunities and Challenges for the Worldwide PV Industry • New Status, Trend and Policies of the Solar PV Industry in China • Development PV Market in this Great Competitive Era • Global • Leading Trend of Rapidly Growing PV Industry in Each Country

Forums: May 7-8

Experts & CTO Panel • PV Panel • CEO PV Industry • Advanced Connection and System Integration Forum • Grid Material Forum • Silicon Silicon Cell Forum • Crystalline Cell Forum • Thin-Film Equipment Forum • Solar cellForum • Technology Cross-Strait Solar PV Development Outlook 2010 • China • Investment Facilitation Forum

Other amenities throughout the week include, a “PV Night” Welcome Reception, a Huangpu River Cruise and Banquet, Open Bar (in the VIP Room), a visit to World Expo 2010, a site visit to PV demonstration base and manufacturing factories, investment environment inspection and Sightseeing around the Yangtze Delta Region, as well as one-on-one Meetings for Projects Cooperation and Technology Exchange.

Contact: Shanghai New Energy Industry Association (SNEIA) Room 1008, No.1525 West Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200235, China Tel: +86-21-64281523 Fax:+86-21-64642653 Contact: Tom Qin E-mail: snecchina@gmail.com Website: www.snec.org.cn

Q&A

INFORMATION

INSIDE IPVEA

10 questions with…

Dr. Michael Wenzel Reis GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik

Stefan Rosskopf teamtechnik teamtechnik CEO Stefan Rosskopf was born in 1967. After finishing a mechanical apprenticeship, he studied mechanical engineering at the FHTE Esslingen. Before he became shareholder and CEO of teamtechnik GmbH, he worked four years abroad for a subsidiary of Robert Bosch in the UK. 1. How optimistic are you about 2010?

2010 will definitely be better than 2009 and will most probably take us back to 2008’s level in business volume.

2. How was 2009 for your company?

Very turbulent. In the first half of 2009, order intake ceased almost completely, with a very strong recovery in the second half.

3. Where is the growth coming from?

All three business divisions have contributed almost equally: automotive, solar and medical.

4. Any particular current trends?

There’s tremendous pressure on innovation in the automotive industry towards efficiency and E-vehicles, and standardised mass-production equipment for photovoltaics.

5. Are you sensing less enthusiasm for solar from governments?

Definitely so in Europe, but it’s an uncertain situation in the US. 6. What changes have there been recently in solar cell prices and the causes?

I don’t want to comment.

7. Are advancements in technology and cell efficiency happening fast enough?

I rather not comment. Thank you.

8. What keeps you up at night?

When my children are sick. (Editor’s comment: Good answer) 9. How did you end up in the PV solar business?

We were approached by a market leading module manufacturer to develop laser soldering stringers.

10. What was the last book you read?

What’s Before Big Bang? by Martin Bojowald

Dr. Michael Wenzel, born in 1963, has been general manager of Reis GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik (Reis Robotics) in Obernburg am Main since 1994.

requirements at a lower price. Knowing this situation Reis Robotics has focussed its development effort to comply with these market requirements.

After his studies and earning a doctorate in physics Dr. Wenzel joined Reis Robotics as Controlling Manager in 1992. In June 1994 he was appointed general manager and he is responsible for the complete commercial sector (e.g., sales, marketing, controlling, finances, IT).

Further more he manages the service and sales affiliates of the Reis Robotics group and has founded subsidiaries in Spain, Brazil, CZ, China and Singapore.

5. Are you sensing less enthusiasm for solar from governments?

The answer for this question is different depending on the individual country. We feel in general the positive attitude towards solar energy is growing worldwide so governments cannot take a position against the public opinion. Of course, there are countries with a reduction in their support for solar energy but the general positive trend is continuously ongoing.

For many years Dr. Wenzel has been active in the VDMA: in 2003 he was elected member of the board of management of the VDMA special association “Robotics and automation,” and in 2009 he became its chairman. Since 2004, he has been member of the VDMA executive board.

1. How optimistic are you about 2010?

Dr. Wenzel: Reis Robotics is very confident that the year 2010 will have a positive growth again.

Despite the fact that the general climate for investments is not (yet) at a level we have seen in the past, we see already positive indications from our business partners.

2. How was 2009 for your company?

In 2009, more or less all companies were affected by Germany’s most serious economic crisis in the last 60 years. Reis Robotics, like everyone else, had to face a decrease in sales.

We used the time to develop many innovative solutions to be prepared for the next phase of the boom, which is about to come.

3. Where is the growth coming from?

After many investments have been stopped due to financial issues, which were related to the crisis of the banks, in the meantime the availability of funding has significantly improved. Obviously new investments in solar installations fuel the market and are the driver for new production equipment investments.

4. Any particular current trends?

The obvious trends in PV industries are the same as anywhere else. The market requires higher quality, more productivity, better performance of the equipment – and of course – all these

6. What changes have there been recently in solar cell prices and the causes?

The price situation for solar cells and modules is determined by many influencing factors and each of them has a different background. It is known to everybody that there was a significant price drop for cells and modules, however the causes for that have many roots.

7. Are advancements in technology and cell efficiency happening fast enough?

The ongoing R&D efforts of the PV industry lead and will lead to new levels in technology and cell efficiency. It is hard to say, if this is fast enough, but for sure we will see many improved results in the future.

8. What keeps you up at night?

To perform my duties during the day at the highest efficiency level, I prefer to sleep at night.

9. How did you end up in the PV solar business?

Reis Robotics has been selling automated solutions for many industries. It was a natural and logical step to transfer the existing experiences to the special requirements of the solar industry. Having the technology and solutions for production automation and adding special newly developed solutions for solar industry, Reis Robotics took over a leading position in module fab automation at a very early point in time.

10. What was the last book you read?

As I like to read thrillers the last book was Der Chinese by Henning Mankell.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 27

TECHNOLOGY

WHITE PAPER

Optical Inspection for PV Modules

Best quality – higher energy efficiency: Thin-film solar modules in use

by Ludger Wahlers Business Unit Manager, ISRA SURFACE VISION GmbH

The thin-film solar technology plays an increasingly important role in the photovoltaic industry.

Even though the availability of the needed material used for these kinds of solar modules is nearly unlimited.

The processing steps during the manufacturing of thinfilm solar cells are still quite complex and require that the quality process be monitored 100% of the time.

28 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

To be on the winning side: Exact and 100% inspection at all processing stages in thin-film photovoltaic module production – from front to back end - assures higher yield, higher energy efficiency, better customer acceptance and detailed process data.

TECHNOLOGY

WHITE PAPER Thus it is an important decision to make use of a camera-based, in-line inspection system after important production steps.

So, it is assured that only completely inspected base materials that have been found to meet standards continue onto the next processing step. In doing so, the fully automated inspection with 100% defect recognition, combined with tools for process optimization, will maximise the rate of return of the production equipment.

Typical defect, reliably detected by POWERSCAN: pinholes

The thin-film solar technology is becoming more important within the photovoltaic industry. Solar cells or photovoltaic cells are electrical components that make use of the photoelectrical effect to convert the radiation energy of sunlight directly into electric energy. Contributing to the growing use of this technology is the fact that the availability of the materials used, such as silicon, is practically unlimited. Solar modules are made of component parts that are harmless to the environment. The manufacturing process itself can be carried out at low temperatures.

width and at highest production speeds.

High-resolution high speed cameras provide crystal clear images of any defects. Stateof-the-art teaching classification software processes the inspection data in real-time.

Data and images of all significant defects are stored to be analysed at a later time and can be called up during the processes with just one mouse-click. The information determined in this way can be used for optimizing the production process. This makes it possible to ideally configure the production processes.

Efficient and precise automatic inspection The latest developments in this process allow special coatings made of zinc oxide to be used for thin solar glass. These transparent and conductive layers – also known as TCO – increase the efficiency of photovoltaic systems by nearly 5%. The size of the glass surfaces being produced is becoming larger and with generation 8.5 are reaching sizes of 2.2 m x 2.6 m. In the process, quality inspection requires particular attention to ensure that the high demands placed on the photovoltaic industry are met.

Inspection systems can be integrated into a variety of different processing steps within the process chain. Directly after the washing sequences for the raw materials and before high-quality coating sequences, the optical inspection systems reliably detect typical glass defects and specific defects such as shells and breakouts on the edges. Defective material can be discharged immediately and never reach the high-quality coating process.

After the coating process, the system inspects whether the coating was applied properly. This is typically followed by edge processing of the substrates, which also involves an inspection process of corners and edges. Further steps include the scribing, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), cutting and lamination processes. Each of these steps can conclude with an inspection process so that at each step only 100% inspected merchandise arrives for further processing throughout the entire front and back end area. This assures that costs for the production of thin film modules are reduced considerably.

Because of the extremely high resolution in the µm range, even the smallest defects are detected reliably at a maximum sheet

A big problem for quality, not for POWERSCAN: patches

Maximise the rate of return of production systems Quality control and process optimization need to be integrated in the production processes of thin-film solar, such as CIS, CIGS, CSG and CdTe, and also of solar wafers for inspecting defects in the coating, structure, edges and other typical glass defects. It is also the product of choice for inspecting solar modules (inspecting for completeness, position, size, geometry) and cover glass (inspecting for glass and edge defects as well as size/dimension errors).

Inspection systems - like POWERSCAN - increase processing reliability and productivity. The fully automated inspection combined with 100% defect recognition, in addition to tools for processing optimisation, maximises the rate of return of production equipment and ensures that its users are ahead of their competition in a global market.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 29

TECHNOLOGY

WHITE PAPER

Flexible Non-Contact Laser-Soldering for Solar Cell Strings

by Uta Straube Today, the process to connect

Head of Marketing individual solar cells and solar teamtechnik GmbH strings with conductive ribbon is almost entirely automated.

With cells becoming increasingly thinner and therefore more sensitive, the challenges facing this technology are growing.

Cells, ribbons and flux have to be soldered together in various combinations at lower cycle times in a dependable and capable process.

Only a minimum of thermal stress can occur in order to avoid stress cracks on the cell and the cell-ribbon connections.

Profile: teamtechnik Group Based in Germany, teamtechnik has been making intelligent and reliable automation solutions for the automotive industry and for medical and solar technology for over 30 years.

With their focus on assembly and testing, the systems are distinguished by their modular and standardized process-oriented structure. teamtechnik is considered an international leader in highly flexible automation technology. With a total of 400 employees throughout the world, the company achieves sales of over â‚Ź75 million. The majority of the workforce are engineers and highly qualified specialists. The teamtechnik-Group has production sites in Germany and Poland and two sales/service centers in the US and one in China.

30 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

Today’s standard stringing technologies use different soldering processes. Soldering with infra-red light (IR-light) is one of the oldest and best known. Other common technologies are induction, hot-air and contact soldering.

As a market leader in high-throughput production systems, teamtechnik specialises exclusively in non-contact soldering technologies such as IR-light and laser soldering. The latter offers a considerable advantage with the trend towards thinner cell material, as the energy required is not applied two-dimensionally to a surface but with pinpoint precision.

This technology minimizes the amount of heat acting on the solar cell. The precisely controlled application of soldering energy provides great flexibility in a wide range of applications. For example, in addition to conventional cells, back-contact cells and other ribbon geometries can also be laser soldered.

Throughout the soldering process, a holddown device developed specifically for this purpose by teamtechnik ensures the precise positioning and alignment of cell and ribbon.

One of the primary differences in the system periphery is that this concept enables soldering only to be carried out at this stage and there is no additional handling. With the hold-down device, all the other processes can be done in parallel. This reduces costly processing time and a cycle time of three seconds can be accomplished throughout the machine.

Both of these non-contact soldering processes, IR-light and laser, can be integrated in teamtechnik’s standard stringers. The end-user can choose between two basic chassis, a TT900 allowing 900 cycles/hour and a TT1200 allowing 1200 cycles/hour.

What are the primary objective criteria for evaluating soldering quality?

They are the pull-off force of the ribbon and the homogeneity of the soldered section. The pull-off forces are defined as the force required to peel the ribbon from the cell. These forces should be at least 1N per millimeter width of the ribbon. The pull-off forces depend on the quality of the cell, the flux and the ribbon and how they are combined. The soldering result should ideally provide high pull-off forces with low cell tension. In addition, a homogeneous and consistent joint along the busbar is required. Stress causes faulty joints to crack open between the cell and the ribbon, reducing conductivity and current flow in the whole of the solar panel.

How does laser soldering work in detail? The laser beam generates energy that is applied

TECHNOLOGY

WHITE PAPER

with precision in order to melt the solder on the ribbon. The energy is concentrated into just a few millimeters, and moved precisely with a scanner throughout the area of the soldered joint. A non-contact pyrometer constantly feeds back temperature readings in order to control the laser spot precisely.

The laser then serially scans the busbar and accurately solders the ribbon to the cell so as to achieve high geometrical quality in the length, straightness, cell gap, cell/ribbon position and alignment.

The actual soldering process is supported by multiple heat zones which pre-heat the cells from below and activate the flux. Each heat zone can be adjusted and controlled separately and the temperatures for pre-

1.

and post-soldering can be set precisely according to the cell-type.

the soldering to the different busbars. The adjustment is carried out via recipes only.”

Axel Riethmüller, manager of teamtechnik’s solar division, summarizes the primary advantages of laser-soldering: “Laser technology provides a very high level of flexibility for fine tuning in order to achieve the best possible soldering results on different material combinations and alloys.

A machine is therefore not restricted to one cell type but can be used for different cell types and sizes. The closed-loop process balances out variations in the material to achieve stable and continuous soldering quality. When running different cell types on one and the same machine, there is no mechanical adjustment required to adapt

Today laser technology is still an expensive soldering method.

Nevertheless, at our customers’ request approximately 50% of the stringers built by teamtechnik are equipped for laser soldering. One reason is undoubtedly that the flexibility of laser technology will allow more scope for dealing with the challenges that future materials might bring. teamtechnik also benefits from this technology and has successfully completed tests on 130mm thick cells and unleaded ribbon.

2.

3.

1. STRINGER TT by teamtechnik: optionally with IR-light or laser technology 2. Laser process for more flexibility 3. Laser Technology: precise and contiguous soldering 4. Pull-off force testing 5. Stringer machine assembly at teamtechnik

4.

5.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 31

RESEARCH

MARKET UPDATE

Organic: Forecast for Third-Generation PVs By pira international

Today the majority of commercialised solar cell modules are based on inorganic, such as silicon-based, photovoltaics (PVs). However, printed or vacuum deposited versions on flexible plastic or metal foils are improving in efficiency, and durability.

Moreover, R&D and scale-up activity focused on third-generation PV is progressing fast, especially in the field of dye sensitised solar cells (DSSC). Rigid silicon will still dominate the fixed grid, large area applications for many years to come, but more cost-effective PV technologies will help to create new in relation to efficiency targets and substrate use.

Third-Generation Cells Developers of organic PVs (OPVs) are targeting the consumer electronics market.

OPVs are slated to be even cheaper than thin film, as silicon is not used. OPVs are viewed as a third-generation technology and include a variety of different cell concepts.

The most promising OPV designs appear to be tandem cells, which stack several dyesensitised or bulk heterojunction cells.

32 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

Tandem cells combine two or more cells in a single stack to capture as many of the incident photons as possible. OPVs can be printed on plastic or glass substrates.

Developers are opting to use plastic to keep costs down and they allow more freedom for design.

Konarka, a leading PV firm in the US, specialises in tandem-cell development.

Significant progress has been made in DSSC technology within a short period. The cell structure is based on the

groundbreaking work of Michael Graetzel, chief scientist at the École Polytechnique FÊdÊrale de Lausanne (EPFL), an R&D institute in Switzerland.

They are made with low-cost materials and do not require elaborate apparatus to manufacture. In bulk, they should be significantly less expensive than older solidstate cell designs.

They can be engineered into flexible sheets, are robust and, although conversion efficiencies are not as high as thin-film,

RESEARCH

MARKET UPDATE price-performance benefits should be high enough to allow them to compete in a range of markets.

quantities (in the hundreds), the efficiency level is greatly improved and the cost remains low.

Over the last two years, there has been a rapid UK’s publicly funded Carbon Trust to develop polymer PV technology to a precompetitive stage. Heliatek, a start-up in Dresden, Germany, is working with industrial partners such as Bosch to develop OPV materials and products. In 2008, the German government began funding a series of OPV projects carried out by consortiums that include chemical producers Merck and BASF as well as technology developers and other supply chain partners.

The building-integrated PV (BIPV) area is set to be the secondary, mid-term market for OPV technology over next two to three years. The market can be divided

Markets Consumer electronics OPVs are beginning to be incorporated into consumer improvement in OPV technology. Cells are more rugged because high-level R&D has been carried out on substrate behaviour and the flexible plastics are now far more advanced than they were three or four years ago. Efficiencies are gradually moving upwards while production costs are lowering. Cells have a maximum realized efficiency of about 6%.

Though OPVs have very little commercial market share, there is significant potential for the technology. In Europe, OPV development activity is concentrated in the UK and Germany.

Cambridge University is using cash from the electronics devices. Such products are very cost sensitive so PVs need to be cheap if they are to be used in mobile phones and similar applications.

The consumer electronics market could be the short-term target for developers such as G24 Innovations in South Wales, in the UK. The firm is now running its commercial roll-to-roll (R2R) system for making DSSCs and views the portable, hand-held market, initially in developing economies, as a strong starting point for its technology.

Building integrated OPVs may lack the maturity of silicon, but there are real opportunities in the construction and building development markets. The emerging flock of OPV designs are lightweight, flexible, almost transparent, can be cut into a variety of shapes and offer good aesthetic qualities. They can be integrated into exterior walls, windows and rooftops, and when applied in large

roughly into cells for exterior and interior applications.

In Australia OPV materials developer Dyesol, which licenses IP developed by Graetzel, is improving dye cell materials.

The company has several partnerships with manufacturing firms, many of whom

World PV production by region 2010

2012

MW

%

MW

%

1,861

34.4

3,261

35.0

923

17.0

1,677

18.0

1,337

24.7

1,863

20.0

Asia

907

16.8

2,050

22.0

ROW

385

7.1

466

5.0

Total 5,412 World PV production by region Source: Pira International

100

9,316

Japan US Europe

2010

2012

MW % Photovoltaic production (MW) by cell type, 2005–15 Japan 34.4 “The emerging flock of1,861 OPV designs are US almost

100.0

MW

%

3,261 35.0 lightweight, flexible,

1,677 18.0 2005e 2006p 2007f 2011f and 2012f transparent, can923 be cut 2008f into 17.0 a 2009f variety2010f of shapes

Europe Rigid cells

1,337

24.7

1,863

20.0

1,865.20 2,331.50 2,914.38 3,642.97 4,553.71 5,692.14 7,115.17 offer good 1,492.16 aesthetic qualities. They can be integrated into

Asia Bulk silicon

1,360.00

1,632.00 907 1,958.40

2,350.0816.8 2,820.10

2,050 3,384.12

22.0 4,060.94 4,873.13

132.16

233.20

564.30 7.1822.87

466 1,169.60

1,631.20

5.0 2,242.05

7.84 10.19 17.22 22.39 greatly improved and the13.25 cost remains low.”29.11

37.84

49.19

Inorganic thin 7.84 film on plastic or foil

28.82

35.45

44.70

0.29

2.39

4.50

exterior walls, windows and rooftops, and when applied

ROW Thin film on inglass large Total

385 373.10

quantities (in the hundreds), the efficiency level is 5,412 100 9,316 100.0

Flexible cells

Source: Pira International

10.19

13.25

17.22

22.39

Organic PV cellsproduction — — by cell — type, 2005–15 — — Photovoltaic (MW) Total

1,500.00 1,875.39 2,344.75 2,931.60 3,665.36 4,582.82 5,729.98 7,164.37 2005e

2006p

2007f

2008f

2009f

2010f

2011f

2012f

Notes: totals may not add up due to rounding, e = estimated, p = projected, f = forecast

Rigid cells

1,492.16

1,865.20

2,331.50

2,914.38

3,642.97

4,553.71

5,692.14 7,115.17

Bulk silicon

1,360.00

1,632.00

1,958.40

2,350.08 2,820.10

3,384.12

4,060.94 4,873.13

Thin film

132.16

233.20

373.10

564.30

1,169.60

1,631.20

Source: Pira International

822.87

2,242.05

on glassrespondents' views on the uptake of PV technology during the next five years Survey Flexible cells

7.84

10.19

13.25

17.22

22.39

29.11

37.84

49.19

Inorganic thin 7.84 film on plastic or foil

10.19

13.25

17.22

22.39

28.82

35.45

44.70

—

—

—

—

0.29

2.39

4.50

Dye-sensitised photovoltaic materials Organic PV cells — Total

1,500.00 1,875.39 2,344.75 2,931.60 3,665.36 4,582.82 5,729.98 7,164.37

Notes: totals may not add up due to rounding, e = estimated, p = projected, f = forecast Photovoltaic inks

andInternational paints Source: Pira

Survey respondents' views on the uptake of PV technology during the next five years MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 33

Organic photovoltaics

2005e

2006p

2007f

2008f

2009f

2010f

2011f

Rigid cells RESEARCH

1,492.16

1,865.20

2,331.50

2,914.38

3,642.97

4,553.71

5,692.14 7,115.17

Bulk silicon

1,360.00

1,632.00

1,958.40

2,350.08 2,820.10

3,384.12

4,060.94 4,873.13

MARKET UPDATE

2012f

Thin film on glass

132.16

233.20

373.10

564.30

822.87

1,169.60

1,631.20

2,242.05

Flexible cells

7.84

10.19

13.25

17.22

22.39

29.11

37.84

49.19

Inorganic thin

7.84

10.19

13.25

17.22

22.39

28.82

35.45

44.70

supply the construction industry, to The solar cell market is unlikely to change film on plastic or foil develop commercial OPV products. One of dramatically over the next two to three Organic PV cells — —years. A— 0.29 4.50 these partners is Corus Steel,—in Wales.—The project funded by 2.39 the German producer aims to commercialise solar cells Ministry for Education and Research called Total 1,500.00 1,875.39 2,344.75 2,931.60 3,665.36 4,582.82 5,729.98 7,164.37 coated on steel from 2010 onwards.

FLEXE NSYS is developing flexible lowcost OPVspthat can be fused in a range of Notes: totals mayessential not add up rounding, e = estimated, = projected, = forecast Durability will be in due thisto instance portable textile and consumer electronics Pira International andSource: could take at least five years to achieve. applications.

Survey respondents' views on the uptake of PV technology during the next five years

Silicon will maintain its 90%+ share of the industry for the time being because it is established and commercially proven. Thin film silicon will be used more widely in highend clothing and novelty electronic goods.

Arch Aluminum and Glassinto solar windows. The company is planning to roll out a series of tinted PV windows in the US at some point in 2010, to be used in residential and corporate buildings.

Wearable Electronics A predicted long-term market for OPVs is wearable electronics. Low-cost, flexible solar cells integrated in ski-jackets that help

Dye-sensitised photovoltaic materials

power portable consumer electronic devices such as mobile phones or iPods.

Photovoltaic inks and paints

Developers will need to define the encapsulation process and the materials used before OPVs can be applied in this way.

Organic photovoltaics

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

The OPV market, though small now, is expected to expand quickly over the next few years as designers look to integrate energy generation into everyday structures and items.

Lower efficiencies in these applications are not a barrier to adoption, if the cells can be made cheaply enough. R&D and academic partners of Dyesol, many of which are based in Japan, are reporting increased efficiencies, and Pira International expects

Rating* Note: *averaged response whereby 1 = no uptake, 2 = small uptake, 3 = significant uptake, 4 = very significant uptake Source: Pira International

OPVs to approach the 10% threshold by 2010 and also capture a small percentage of the flexible PV market by then too. next five years

Respondents’ views on how market factors will effect demand of flexible and rigid PVs

Use of photovoltaics in personal electronics

Plastic Electronics magazine is published six times a year, by Pira International, to analyse the strategies of companies commercialising energy-efficient lighting, flexible solar cells, e-paper and OLED displays along with other low carbon and breakthrough products that are based on organic and printed electronics.

Government spending and incentives Increasing cost of petrochemical power sources

www.plusplasticelectronics.com

Rural and developing world electrification

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5 3.0 3.5 Rating* ■ Rigid PVs ■ Flexible PVs

4.0

4.5

5.0

Note: *averaged response whereby 1 = no uptake, 2 = relevant but not important, 3 = minor factor, 4 = very important, 5 = critical Source: Pira International

34 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

ANALYSIS

MARKET FOCUS

New Feed-in Tariffs: German PV promotion decreases significantly After heated debates, the coalition of CDU/ CSU and FDP, presents the latest decision of the cabinet regarding further cuts of the German feed-in tariffs for solar electricity.

Despite huge concessions on part of the PV branch, many experts believe the targeted cuts are too drastic while the relief for electricity customers is actually only marginal.

For several weeks now, Berlin has been struggling over the amendment of the feed-in tariffs for solar electricity as defined in the Renewable Energy Act (EEG). On the one hand, the debate came to the forefront once again after consumer advocates called on politics to relieve electricity customers. On the other hand, the debate was aggravated by the necessary industrial political adjustments of the feed-in tariffs to the latest state of development of the PV industry. A decision by the cabinet now determines the corner points of new promotion regulations. Experts expect that the cuts made public on 23 February will be stipulated into German law without any amendments and will come into effect – after consultation in the German Bundestag and the bill in the German Federal Assembly – just in time for the cut-off date.

The corner points of the newly adjusted incentives for PV anticipate the following: • As of July 1, the feed-in tariffs for solar electricity from rooftop systems will be cut back by a further 16 percent. Taking into account the cuts that were already made at the beginning of January, the electricity from rooftop systems of up to 100 kWp will receive an over cut of 23.56% in promotional funding. At the same time, electricity from rooftop systems larger than 100 kWp face a 24.4% cut altogether.

• As of July 1, the tariffs for solar electricity for open-space systems, such as on conversion areas, will be reduced by a further 11%. Open space plants on

other surfaces will receive a cut of 15%.

Taking into account the cuts that were already made at the beginning of January, promotional funding for large-scale systems will cut by 24.35% overall.

• In the future, large-scale systems on agricultural fields will receive no funding whatsoever.

• For investors having received a building permission for the construction of a solar park by 1 January 2010, a transitional period is currently under discussion.

• Additionally, there will be a growth corridor for 2011. If the newly-installed capacity in 2010 exceeds 3.5 GW, there will be a further 2.5% degression along with the degression that is already planned. If more than 4.5 GW is installed, the planned degression will increase by a further 5%.

Finally a clear picture: “However, the promotion cutbacks are drastic. Following primary speculations and various statements concerning the issue of solar incentives, there is now a clarity towards the future of the incentive rates,” according to Markus A.W. Hoehner, CEO of the market research and consulting institute EuPD Research.

In principle, Mr. Hoehner has approved a rotational adaptation of the PV incentives to the market forces, but the extent of this reduction is “incredibly ambitious,” says the industry expert.

In his point of view, such drastic promotional cutbacks cannot be justified with the current situation of the PV market and the rise in electricity prices. In fact, the additional charges were not caused by the promotion of solar electricity but by other factors such as the continuously rising electricity production costs, higher transport costs and higher tax burdens.

According to EuPD Research, the additional cost for the promotion of solar electricity accounted for only 24 cents per head and month in 2009.

International Solar

Fluctuating System Costs ‘Not Ideal’ as a Basis for Calculation It is clear to see that the purchase prices for solar plants and their amortization period have reduced significantly in the past few months, due to technological improvements, higher efficiency rates and higher levels of market penetration. “It is not advisable to calculate political incentives solely on the basis of a short-term price decline, but on the basis of long-term trends and forecasts. Actual system prices, which serve as a foundation for calculations by the federal government, reflect a distorted image,” according to Markus A.W. Hoehner, whose company provides the only representative price surveys of this branch. On a quarterly basis, the analysts in Bonn conduct national and international surveys on module and system prices, and compile the “Photovoltaic Price Index.” In this context, the prices reflect a much more realistic price level than similar methods used to evaluate purchasing prices. The price margin of solar systems is enormous, and the severe price reductions in the last quarter are not revealing for the long term.

It is unclear as to what extent the amended incentives will impact the German solar market and the German-based industry. In any case, solar expects expect strong cuts on all steps of the solar value chain in Germany.

www.eupd-research.com EuPD Research is a market and opinion researcher for media and companies. As a full-service provider with a highly specialized interview center, it offers a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research services. It creates market studies, sector reports, and business climate indices and use this information to develop target-oriented decision support for its customers. In the process, it draws upon an expert network of scientists, decision makers and media representatives.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 35

INFORMATION

EVENT CALENDAR NF E NC ERE FEE

ICA AFR A/ ME SIA A S CA ERI AM PE RO EU H OT B O M2 R AW PAC E S

CO

T PA S S OR

IBIT

N

ME

ED ECT S EXP NDEE E AT T

EXH

NA

TIO CA

NT

LO

EVE

TE DA

E

OW

NC

SH

ERE

DE

NF

TRA

CO

MARCH 2010

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

2-4

Power & Electricity World Australia

Perth, Australia

3

Power GEN India & Central Asia 2010

New Delhi, India

3-5

25th Photovoltaic Symposium

3-5

World Sustainable Energy Days 2010

Bad Staffelstein, Germany Wels, Austria

3-5

Tokyo, Japan

•

4-6

PV EXPO 2010; 3rd International Photovoltaic Power Generation Expo Solar Thermal Materials Equipment & Technology Conference PV+Solar India Expo 2010

7-9

Photovoltaic Fab Managers Forum

Berlin, Germany

•

9 - 11

Renewtech India 2010

Pune, India

10 - 11

•

11 - 14

Renewable Energy Finance Forum Central & Eastern Europe Günes Enerjisi’10

Prague, Czech Republic Istanbul, Turkey

15 - 18

Clean Technology World Africa 2010

Johannesburg, SA

1497 Euro

15 - 19

Power & Electricity World Africa

Johannesburg, SA

1,666 euro

16 - 18

CIPV EXPO 2010

Beijing, China

16 - 18

Solarcon China 2010

Shanghai, China

16 - 18

CNEE CHINA2010

Beijing, China

17 - 18

2nd Thin Film Solar Summit

Berlin, Germany

17 - 19

ENEREXPO Vietnam 2010

Hanoi, Vietnam

18 - 20

WRETC-2010

New Delhi, India

22 - 23

2nd German American Energy Conference

Berlin, Germany

22 - 23

PV Solar Energy: Getting down to Business

Thailand, Bangkok

23 - 24

Wall Street Green Trading Summit

New York, USA

25 - 27

Impianti Solari Expo

Parma, Italy

25 - 28

EVER MONACO’10

30 - 31

Greentech Media’s Solar Summit 2010

Phoenix, Arizona, US

30 Apr 1

5th AsiaSolar PV Industry Exhibition & Forum

Shanghai, China

5-9

Power & Electricity Asia 2010

Singapore

7 - 10

ENERSOL Expo 2010

Tunis, Tunisia

7-9

International Green Energy Expo Korea 2010

Daegu, Korea

400

40,000

US$ 200

13 - 14

Dresden, Germany

73

1042

577 Euro

Sofia, Bulgaria

124

4500

250 Euro per day

15 - 16

Photovoltaics Beyond Conventional Silicon Europa 2010 6th Int.Congress & Ex. Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Sources 2nd PV Summit Asia

20 - 22

Polymers in Photovoltaics 2010

Cologne, Germany

• •

4

• • • • • • •

550

900

275 Euro

43,000

US$ 275

Berlin, Germany Mumbai, India

• •

114

•

193 Euro 200-400

31

•

•

395 euro NEW

• •

TBD

3481

194 Euro

17,293

300 +

40,000

400

20,000 450

175 Euro

$ 300 - 500

•

•

• •

• • •

US$ 310 US$ 280

1,495 euro

150

210 Euro 279 Euro

•

• •

193 Euro

• US$ 1,695 110 Euro 26

700

600 200

636 euro

35,000

US$ 250

290 Euro

• •

• •

•

•

• •

US$ 300

APRIL 2010

• • • • • • •

• • • •

14 - 16

36 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

Beijing China

•

2539 Euro 150 Euro US$ 222

145 Euro

• •

200

•

• •

•

INFORMATION

EVENT CALENDAR NF E NC ERE FEE

ICA AFR A/ ME SIA A S CA ERI AM PE RO EU H OT B O M2 R AW PAC E S

CO

T PA S S OR

IBIT

N

ME

ED ECT S EXP NDEE E AT T

EXH

NA

TIO CA

NT

LO

EVE

TE DA

E

OW

NC

SH

ERE

DE

NF

TRA

CO

APRIL 2010

• • • • • • • • • •

20 - 23

European Energy Conference

Barcelona, Spain

600 euro

21 - 22

Solar Leadership Summit

San Ramon, California

US$ 388 / US$ 476

22

The Solar Future II

595 euro

22 - 23

Thin Film Industry Forum 2010

Solar Plaza, The Netherlands Berlin, Germany

450

22 - 25

3rd ECOTEC - Environmental Technologies

Athens, Greece

185

28 - 30

Organic Photovoltaics 2010

Philadelphia, USA

29 - 30

PHOTON’s Photovoltaic Technology Show (Eur) Stuttgart, Germany

29 - 30

5th European PV-Hybrid & Mini-Grid Conference

Tarragona/Barcelona

SNEC (2010) PV Power Expo IPVEA SUPPORTED EVENT 11th Solarexpo: Renewable Energy & Distr.

Generation

Shanghai, China

1,032

80,000

Verona, Italy

1,060

68,000

11

German PV Market Executive Briefing 2010

Frankfurt, Germany

11 - 12

5th Renewable Energy Finance Forum – China

Beijing, China

Greenex 2010

•

895 euro 14,000

294

FREE

150 Euro

1620 euro

260 Euro

780 Euro

• • • • •

•

•

MAY 2010

• • • • • • • •

• • • • • •

5-7 5-7

19 - 20

Genera 2010

19 - 21

Semicon Singapore 2010

Singapore

24 - 26

PV America

Washington DC, USA

2-3

Glass Performance Days (GPD) China

Beijing, China

38

3-5

PV Power Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sri Lanka

200

7-8

Power Electrics German Photovoltaics Seminar Munich, Germany

12 - 13 17 - 22

Solar 2010

450 Euro

130 Euro

750 Euro

Johanesberg, South Africa Phoenix, Arizona, USA Madrid, Spain

•

257 Euro

4200

$ 230

5,000

US$ 270

• •

• • • • • • •

124 euro 113

5740

•

US$ 310

• • • • •

•

9-11

Intersolar

9-11

Solar Taiwan 2010

Taipei, Taiwan

358

35,318

14-16

Semicon Russia 2010

Moscow, Russia

200+

1000+

16 - 18

Renewable Energy Exhibition 2010

Paris, France

35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference

Honalulu, Hawaii

21 - 25

Clean Technology 2010

Anaheim, CA, USA

400

5000

28 July 2 30 July 2

Silicon for the Chemical and Solar Industry X

Ålesund, Norway

5

150

PV Japan 2010

Yokohama, Japan

303

50,779

20 - 25

452

11,500

865 Euro

405 euro

1500

60,000

VARIES

156 Euro US$ 250

TBD

reistration opens 3/22

US$ 270

• • • • •

248 Euro

•

TBD 342 Euro

• • •

848

Amsterdam, The Netherlands Munich, Germany

8 - 10

Renewable Energy World Europe

•

•

JUNE 2010

• • • • • • •

•

• • • •

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 37

INFORMATION

EVENT CALENDAR

San Francisco, USA

444

17,801

16 - 18

Renewable Enegery Exihibition

Paris, France

28 - 30

Solarcon India 2010

Hybderabad India

70

2,482

NA

TIO CA

NT

N

ME

TE DA

E

OW

NC

E NC ERE FEE

Intersolar North America

NF

13 - 15

ICA AFR A/ ME SIA A S CA ERI AM PE RO EU H OT B O M2 R AW PAC E S

CO

ED ECT S EXP NDEE E AT T

17,801

IBIT

683

LO

T PA S S OR

EXH

EVE

San Francisco, USA

SH

ERE

SEMICON West 2010

DE

NF

TRA

CO

13 - 15

JULY 2010

• • • •

• • • •

304 euro

•

• • •

AUGUST 2010

• • • •

18 - 21

Energia Renovável 2010

Sao Paulo, Brazil

26 - 29

Soltec Solar Fair 2010

Hamelin, Germany

444

17,000 140 Euro

SEPTEMBER 2010

• • • •

8 - 10

SEMICON Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan

500

30,000

8 - 10

PV Rome Mediterranean 2010

Rome, Italy

170

25,400

6-9

25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition + 5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion IPVEA SUPPORTED EVENT

Valencia, Spain

1000+

40,000+

12 - 16

WEC Montréal 2010

Montréal, Canada

25 - 30

World Renewable Energy Congress XI and Exhibition

Abu Dhabi, UAE

• • • • • •

• • • •

28 - Oct Glasstec 2010 1 28 - Oct Solarpeq - International Trade Fair for Solar 1 Production Equipment

175 Euro 820 Euro

•

•

•

• •

Dusseldorf, Germany

1300

880 (for Conf) 55,000

Dusseldorf, Germany

200

55,000

Trade Fair Center Augsburg, Germany Madrid, Spain

100

•

400 Euro

250 Euro

174 Euro

8-12 Euro

100 Euro

• • •

OCTOBER 2010

• • • • • •

• • • • • •

7 - 10

RENEXPO Austria 2010

7-8

Spanish Solar Industry Conference 2010

12 - 14

Solar Power International 2010 IPVEA SUPPORTED EVENT

Los Angeles, USA

14 - 16

PV Power Bangladesh 2010

Bangladesh

19 - 21

Semicon Europe 2010

Dresden, Germany

27 - 29

Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) 2010

Greater Noida, Delhi

4000

495 Euro 1000+

25,000

$ 495-795

US$ 330

• •

900

403 Euro

222 Euro

•

•

• •

NOVEMBER 2010

• • • • • • • • •

9

3rd EPIA International Thin Film Conference

Munich, Germany

300

11 - 12

11th Forum Solarpraxis

Berlin, Germany

16

Invex 2010 - Inverter Day

Rho, Italy

17 - 19

EnerSolar 2010

Milan, Italy

200

26,180

17-19

PV TECH

Milan, Italy

150

10,000

18 - 20

The 11th China Solar PV Conference and Exhibition

Nanjing, China

795 Euro

140 Euro NONE

175 Euro

279 Euro

256 Euro

Event information sourced from / supplied by multiple parties other than IPVEA. IPVEA accepts no responsibility as a result of any incorrect information.

Please check individual event websites for updated / detailed data and the IPVEA website for latest calendar.

38 | IPVEA UPDATE | MARCH 2010

• • • • •

•

INFORMATION

EXHIBITING

Successful Exhibiting in the United States

by Linda Lizardi Rubin, Shepard Exposition Services One of the most important things to remember when exhibiting in the United States is to NOT expect it to be the same as it is in your country. It doesn’t matter if your homeland is Europe, Asia or anywhere in the world – the US exhibition industry is very unique. We are governed by regulations and rules, unions, industry variances, cultural differences and very cost driven.

Who’s Who

Your knowledge of these areas will help the experience of participating in a US-based trade show a much more successful and pleasant experience. Pre-planning is crucial for the most successful participation. Allow plenty of time for the process, as you will be working with multiple companies – one for the stand, another for purchasing utilities like electricity or Internet, another for hospitality or food services.

• Exhibitor – Companies and people that participate in the exhibition

In addition to the variety of suppliers with who you will need to coordinate, you’ll have much less time to set up your exhibit than in most countries. Typically, move-ins are done in two or three days.

And US exhibitions are usually no more than three days long.

Tips to Remember: • Expect US exhibitions to be different than others you may have attended.

• Understand the rules & regulations of the event you are participating.

• Planning is critical for optimum success.

• Different people provide different services; know the right person to call to get what you need.

Here are the typical people you will likely meet or work with at a trade show: • Show Organizer – Sells the booth space and promotes the exhibition to attract attendees

• General Service Contractor - A company the organizer has hired to provide services and supplies for the exhibition to exhibitors as well as to the organiser. For example, registration areas, Internet cafes, custom stand rentals, carpeting, etc.

• Facility Manager – The building where the exhibition is, also usually provides all utilities exclusively such as electricity, air, water and Internet.

• Union Worker – Depending on the city and the facility where the show is held, one or more unions may have jurisdiction over the work done in a trade show. Many cities have very strong union rules, others not so rigid.

• Facility Catering – Most exhibitions will not allow you to bring in outside food, beverages or liquor. The permits required to provide and serve food and liquor are stringent and you must purchase all your food and beverages through approved catering companies of the building.

This is just a sampling of some of the basics players at a trade show. In future columns, we’ll go into more detail regarding setting up your displays, renting versus purchasing displays for use in an exhibition, shipping and customs details, marketing to US consumers, and any other questions you may have.

If you would like to receive an e-mailed version of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) Rules & Regulations, please contact: lrubin@shepardes.com

Linda Lizardi Rubin is a 30-plus year veteran of the United States exhibition industry. She has worked as a customstand builder, a show organiser, and in various operations positions for general contractors. She currently is Director of Exhibit Solutions at Shepard Exposition Services, a leading US General Service Contractor. She holds certification in expositions from IAEE, and is a merit award winner.

MARCH 2010 | IPVEA UPDATE | 39

benefits PV MATRIX

IPVEA – the International IPVEA

M M

COMING SOON - The industry’s central manufacturing resource

IPVEA

The IPVEA PV Matrix is a web based tool that will be the industry’s central resource for information as to how PV is manufactured and how IPVEA members fit within the complete value chain (Sand to Rooftop). Members will have their equipment and services listed.

NEWS, VIEWS & EXPOSURE

Photovoltaic Equipment Association – is the worldwide voice for the PV equipment manufacturing industry. Its members benefit from discounts at leading industry trade shows; increased company exposure through IPVEA’s wide-ranging marketing resources; access to, and discounts on the latest in PV technology research and reports; and updates on news from the association and the industry.

Providing your company with information and publicity IPVEA update, e-bulletins, member directory and regular communications across all media, provide IPVEA members with industry news, information and market data, and ensure their products and news are seen by the whole industry.

IPVEA EVENTS Make sure you are in the right place at the right time Visit IPVEA.org to see a comprehensive list of solar industry events AND their ratings. Join IPVEA and obtain discounts on registrations at IPVEA events; sponsored, non-IPVEA events; and discounted events and exhibit solutions via the IPVEA preferred partner network.

LIKE MORE INFORMATION? To learn more about IPVEA and becoming a member visit us online

Visit: www.ipvea.org Call: +1 (407) 856-9100 Email: membership@ipvea.com Follow us on: