First Solar today debuted its new research and development (R&D) innovation center in Lake Township, Ohio. The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation is dedicated to the late James “Jim” F. Nolan, a former member of First Solar’s Board of Directors and the architect of the company’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor platform.
The facility covers 1.3 million ft2 and includes a pilot production line that enables the production of full-size prototypes of thin-film and tandem PV modules. Prior to operating the Jim Nolan Center, First Solar utilized a production line at the Perrysburg facility for its late-stage product development efforts. This arrangement limited flexibility for development efforts and created constraints when mission-critical tools had to go offline. By solving these limitations, the new facility is expected to accelerate innovation cycles.
“Thin films are the next technology battleground for the solar industry as they are critical to commercializing tandem devices, which are expected to be the next disruption in photovoltaics,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar . “While the United States leads the world in thin-film PV, China is rushing to close the innovation gap. We expect this critical investment in R&D infrastructure will help sustain our nation’s strategic advantage in thin film, accelerating the innovation cycles necessary to ensure America’s next disruptive, transformative solar technology will be made.”
The Jim Nolan Center is part of an approximately half-billion dollar investment by First Solar in R&D infrastructure, and the company also expects to commission a perovskite development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio, campus in the second half of 2024 . has invested nearly $2 billion in R&D and operates laboratories in Santa Clara, California, and Perrysburg, Ohio, in the US, and Uppsala in Sweden. Significantly, First Solar’s California Technology Center (CTC) in Santa Clara recently achieved a 23.1% efficient CdTe cell, a new world record certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
News item from First Solar
