Chilean company Atamostec is testing heterojunction solar panels with low silver content under real desert conditions on the Atacama Desert Solar Platform (PSDA) in collaboration with France’s CEA-Ines. The ALPACA project has achieved up to 70% silver replacement by copper to date.
Atamostec, a private-public initiative supported by the Chilean government-run Production Development Corp, has begun testing heterojunction (HJT) solar modules produced with low silver content in the Atacama Desert, Chile’s Antofagasta region.
The performance of the panels is assessed on the Atacama Desert Solar Platform (PSDA) in collaboration with the National Solar Energy Institute (Ines) under the French Commission for Alternative Energy and Atomic Energy (CEA). The facility enables assessment of performance, efficiency and sustainability in a real environment, prior to potential commercial scale-up.
The ALPACA research project focuses on evaluating different levels of silver-to-copper substitution in HJT modules. According to Atamostec, tests have shown a replacement rate of approximately 40%, and in some cases up to 70%, which the company says is higher than international benchmarks reported to date under real operating conditions.
“The ALPACA project represents a concrete step towards a new generation of more efficient and sustainable photovoltaic technologies. By replacing silver with copper – a material abundant in Chile – we reduce costs and dependence on critical materials, while strengthening the country’s capacity to lead technological development with global impact,” said Felipe Valencia Arroyave, Technology Manager at Atamostec.
“Validating this progress under real-world conditions, such as those in the Atacama Desert, is key to accelerating its adoption in the industry,” Valencia added.
Atamostec and Ines, together with industrial partners such as ICS Konstanz, France’s Engie, Chile’s Colbun and Spain’s Mondragon Assembly, are also testing bifacial modules at the PSDA in the Atacama Desert, the region in the world with the highest levels of solar radiation.
CEA-Ines is currently developing the HJT technology in collaboration with PV manufacturer 3Sun, part of the Italian energy company Enel. The two companies have also jointly developed DC/DC Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPT). They are also working on high-efficiency double-sided PV panels.
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