The highly automated research line of the Dutch research institute offers tailor-made, flexible solar semi-finished products to partners developing integrated PV applications.
The Dutch research institute Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) recently demonstrated to the public in Eindhoven, Netherlands, its highly automated research line for tailor-made, flexible, lightweight solar PV laminates, created to provide its partners with semi-finished products for integrated PV (IPV) applications.
The mass customization line is developed to combine customized PV semi-finished products with mass production volume to reduce costs. “By investing in this mass customization research line and supporting a flexible BOM, we can strengthen the ability of our ecosystem partners to develop new integrated PV products based on low-carbon solar laminates,” says Roland Valckenborg, Senior Project Manager at TNO Solar. pv magazine.
The line supports both copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and crystalline silicon solar cells, including back-contact (BC) designs. There are plans to add support for perovskite solar PV devices in the future.
The dimensions of the semi-finished product are configurable, with widths ranging from 10 cm to 70 cm and a length of up to 25 meters. The parts list is also flexible, with a selection of components offered.
The output is then processed into products from construction, installation and building materials companies. Their typical products are glass-free facade tiles, non-standard solar roof modules or insulated PV windows, sunshades or blinds. Other IPV applications include noise barriers along roads, agrivoltaic systems and vehicle integrated PV systems (VIPV).
In addition, the TNO Solar group is leading a Horizon Europe project that started in 2023 and will run until 2026, called Mass Customization 2.0 (MC2.0), using the research line with a large number of companies and research partners from all over Europe.
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