In combination with improved module technology, record efficiency of 17.6percent was achieved on the surface of the aperture and confirmed independently by the European Solar Test Installation.

The innovative high-performance cells used in the champion module feature a front side that corresponds with the current standard in industrial manufacturing. The backside has been passivated by using a combination of different dielectric layers that feature local contacts, better known in the industry as the passivated emitter and rear cell structure.

Commercially available multicrystalline silicon wafers from subsidiary SCHOTT Solar Wafer GmbH are the starting material. This made it possible for the researchers who work for the Mainz-based company to produce cells in standard size that offer efficiency of more than 18 per cent in pilot production. Conventional silkscreen printing technology was then used to create the contacts. This technique successfully links new manufacturing steps with a mature and cost-efficient production sequence.

New approaches to increasing performance were used during manufacturing of these modules to reduce both optical and electrical losses while the solar cell was being turned into a module. Confirmed efficiency of 17.6 per cent, a world first, was achieved using a conventional layout involving 60 multicrystalline cells.

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The Chairman of the Board of Management of SCHOTT Solar, Dr Martin Heming, noted “Today, the photovoltaic industry is still pursuing two basic approaches when it comes to lowering costs even further: improving the production processes, on the one hand, and increasing efficiency, on the other. SCHOTT Solar has always been the leader in the area of production processes. Now, thanks to this innovative approach to industrial manufacturing of high-performance cells and modules, we will also rank among the leaders when it comes to achieving higher efficiency.”