German researchers developed a new instrument the size of a bag to quickly identify the composition of the solar panel polymer back shoes and encapsulants in the field. The hardware is near -infrared absorption spectroscopy (NIRA) sensor based.
A team of the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (Hi Ern), an institute of the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZ Jülich) in Germany, has developed a portable, Geminiaturized Spectroscopie solution to analyze polymer components of solar panels, Backsheets and gutsweethers.
The team built the solution, which the PV scanner calls, for a quick non-destructive afterwards and incoming polymer analysis on site, instead of in a laboratory. It saw the need for a portable tool to analyze PV panel polymer components, because even between modules of the same type or the same nominal specification, for example, variations can be due to production changes or supply chain differences.
Such variations can have an impact on the performance of the PV module, the sustainability and long-term behavior of modules and even strings, according to Oleksandr Mashkov, FZ Jülich researcher.
“Traditionally, analyzing back shoes and encapsulantia destructive sampling: modules are cut open and samples are sent to the lab for characterization using techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir) or raman-spectro-spotcopia, told, told mashkovo, staggered mashkovo-spectro-spectroecy, “Mashkov told,” Mashkov said, “said Mashkov. PV Magazine. “Although field-based FTIR exists, it is generally limited to surface analysis and cannot investigate the entire laminate structure.”
The PV scanner, currently in prototype form, is a handheld device with a near-infrared absorption spectroscopy (NIRA) sensor from Germany-Founded Spectral Motors, a member of the Nynomic Group. The hardware is integrated with Machine Learning models that have been developed within Hi EN that are said to support the reliable classification of background shoes and encapsuling materials without components of a laboratory for analysis.
At the end of 2025, the team wants to complete the product development and distribute with Laytec, a sister company of spectral engines that are also located in Germany, and via Anymo, a spin-off company that can be formed soon. Tools and services based on prototypes are available on request for use in pilot projects.
One of the early newspapers of the group that lays the foundation for the subsequent work, “Non-destructive characterization of polymere components of silicon solar modules due to near-infrared absorption spectroscopy (NIRA)“Was published in Solar energy materials and solar cells.
In addition to the Diagnostics field of the solar panel, other applications include material verification, research and supporting sorting during the recycling of panels at the end of the lifespan.
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