3D Micromac lands supply contract for Enel Green Power's module gigafactory expansion

• German laser engineering company 3D Micromac is to supply its laser cutting modern technology to Enel Green Power's 3Sun gigafactory in Sicily, Italy as the company strives to expand its manufacturing capacity of high-efficiency modules to 3GW by 2024.

The microCELL MCS laser cutting system was purchased by Bottero S.p.A., which is serving as the engineering, procurement and building (EPC) specialist for the 3Sun project, as well as will be utilized in Enel's 3Sun Gigafactory for cutting high-efficiency heterojunction solar cells.

Bottero claimed 3D Micromac was picked partially because of its patented thermal laser separation procedure, which is utilized by the microCELL MCS to provide ablation-free cell cutting that Micromac stated minimised power losses and given remarkable side quality for heat-sensitive heterojunction cells over traditional laser scribe as well as break processes.

"3D-Micromac's microCELL systems are proven in heterojunction solar module and also cell manufacturing and all of our experience from these previous installments will be completely utilised to sustain this significant expansion project," claimed Uwe Wagner, Chief Executive Officer of 3D-Micromac.

The company claimed the microCELL MCS laser cutting system has a throughput of more than 6,000 wafers per hour (full-cells) and also can cutting mono-crystalline as well as polycrystalline silicon square as well as pseudo-square wafers varying in sizes from M2 to M12/G12 into half-cells or shingled cells without compromising throughput or yield.

One of Europe's biggest PV manufacturing facilities, Enel Green Power's 3Sun Gigafactory creates modules for the company's solar projects. In April, the factory had a production capacity of 200MW but intends to ramp this approximately 3GW by July 2024.

The facility will certainly require EUR600 million euros (US$ 631 million) as well as will see Enel Green Power's financial investment sustained with EUR118 million (US$ 124.1) in EU financing via the bloc's Innovation Fund for large-scale projects.

Enel stated 3Sun's lines will also produce heterojunction bifacial panels and has actually teased the advancement of modules featuring tandem cell structures in the future, yet has actually given no particular timeline for this. While heterojunction modules are already commercially readily available, tandem cells are still taken into consideration to be some years away from commercialisation.