China-based PV equipment supplier Ideal Energy (Shanghai) Sunflower Semiconductor has completed an AI-enabled pilot line for ultra-thin flexible heterojunction (HJT) solar cells, targeting lightweight energy systems for space and near-space applications.
Ideal Energy (Shanghai) Sunflower Semiconductor has announced the completion of an AI-enabled demonstration line for ultra-thin, flexible HJT solar cells designed for space and near-space applications, taking a step beyond conventional photovoltaic manufacturing to advanced, lightweight energy systems.
The company said the pilot line, which was completely designed and integrated in-house, successfully produced the first batch of ultra-thin P-type flexible HJT cells that meet internal performance benchmarks. The announcement was made on January 12 and subsequently reported by several state and financial media in China.
Founded in 2013, Ideal Energy is a supplier of turnkey HJT production equipment, with experience in delivering gigawatt-scale lines. The new platform builds on the existing toolset for mass production rather than laboratory-scale systems, positioning the line as a bridge between industrial production and early-stage technology validation for specialized applications.
The company said the line integrates existing PVD, PECVD and precision wet processing modules, adapted for handling and coating ultra-thin silicon substrates. The system includes AI-based process control to optimize critical steps such as low-damage film deposition, wafer transport and uniformity management, which are considered key challenges when working with thin, flexible cells.
Ideal Energy has not disclosed specific conversion efficiency, cell thickness or production capacity figures for the line. However, the initial output is said to retain the typical advantages of HJT technology, including high open-circuit voltage and low degradation, while achieving mechanical flexibility suitable for curved or coiled form factors.
The company said the primary design objective is extreme lightweight performance, an important metric for space and high-altitude platforms where the power-to-weight ratio directly impacts payload and system design. Flexible HJT modules in this context can be deployed on non-planar surfaces and compact structures that are not compatible with conventional hard glass-based modules.
Ideal Energy added that the cells are designed to tolerate wide temperature variations and radiation exposure associated with space environments, although it did not release third-party test data or specific qualification standards regarding thermal cycling or radiation resistance.
The project has received the support of major shareholders including Shanghai Alliance Investment and Shanghai Electric, which has a minority stake through its automation engineering subsidiary. The company says this industrial and capital support has made it possible to combine equipment development, process optimization and application-oriented system design on a single platform.
State media reports describe the pilot line as China’s first AI-enabled demonstration platform specifically targeting ultra-thin flexible HJT cells for use in space, although the company has set it up primarily as a technology validation and prototyping facility rather than a commercial production line.
Ideal Energy said the platform will initially focus on process verification and sample delivery for potential high-altitude aerospace and energy applications. It did not name any downstream partners or provide a timeline for scaling the technology to volume production.
The company added that the long-term goal is to establish a standardized production path for flexible HJT cells that can transition from niche aerospace applications to broader high-end markets where weight, form factor and reliability are critical performance parameters.
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