HighLine Technology GmbH-- New Fraunhofer ISE Spin-Off for Sustainable Solar Cell Production

• Highline Technology GmbH has a manufacturing procedure in which steel calls are used without touching the front of solar cells, reportedly saving resources and increasing effectiveness.

Solar power is the most economical type of energy worldwide, thanks to the many substantial research payments continuously made up to today. A definitive variable right here is resource-saving production modern technology, which plays a vital role in addition to boosting effectiveness. HighLine Technology GmbH is the most recent Fraunhofer ISE spin-off company. The Freiburg-based start-up aims to advertise a brand-new process which was established at the institute, where a contactless giving procedure is utilized to apply front metal get in touches with onto solar cells.

This process not just conserves resources yet likewise enhances the electricity return and the possibility for price decreases. Applications also consist of manufacturing processes outside the field of photovoltaics.

The expertise behind the young company HighLine Technology is a build-up of 10 years' research deal with dispensing processes for silicon solar cell metallization at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. During this period in which a multi-nozzle dispensing print head was developed, expansive knowledge was obtained on printing pastes and procedures. The established modern technology can easily be integrated into standard assembly line for silicon solar cells, replacing the display printing process generally used for the front-side steel calls. Furthermore, the product consumption of the costly silver is reduced by about 20%. The front-side get in touches with created by the process are thinner, subjecting a larger semiconductor surface area to the sunshine. This raises the electricity output and also hence the efficiency by around 1% family member. The contactless process guarantees a reduced turn down rate when using thinner silicon wafers, as well as the inline printing process will perspectively raise the throughput considerably as contrasted to the traditional display printing process utilized by market today. With the new process, it is likewise possible to maximize various other manufacturing actions used in solar cell manufacturing.

Not Only Making Solar Cell Production More Sustainable

„ Our main emphasis is presently on minimizing material usage in the photovoltaic or pv market," says Dr. Maximilian Pospischil, Managing Director as well as among the creators of HighLine Technology. He includes: „ Our objective is to bring the very effective parallel giving modern technology which was created at Fraunhofer ISE to the marketplace. Along the way, we are remaining to work closely with Fraunhofer ISE's Photovoltaic Technology Evaluation Center PV-TEC. Besides the photovoltaic industry, our giving technology is appealing for other industrial manufacturing processes. Our service offer consists of accompanying firms from equipment production, via the process integration approximately the application".

Similar to Printing with a Sophisticated Toothpaste Tube

In the dispensing modern technology, the materials are pressed through the many little nozzles of highly identical print heads onto the front solar cell surface using a contactless printing process. Instead of a toothpaste tube, however, the PV manufacturing programmers use nozzles with sizes which are only half as thick as a human hair (approx. 20 µm). The tiny nozzles operate in alongside produce the wanted frameworks at high throughput.

„ We are really pleased to welcome HighLine Technology as a brand-new consumer of our PV-TEC," states Dr. Ralf Preu, Head of Photovoltaic Production Technology at Fraunhofer ISE. „ The distinct facilities of PV-TEC makes it feasible for us to cooperate with startups in an outstanding means, allowing us to adapt brand-new modern technology developments to especially meet the market needs."

HighLine Technology GmbH obtained funding from the EXIST Transfer of Research program of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and also Energy BMWi and is likewise funded by the Fraunhofer Technologie Transfer Fonds GmbH FTTF to name a few.

Fraunhofer not only distinguishes itself with its industry-related study but additionally via modern technology transfer in the form of its spin-off companies. To date Fraunhofer ISE has actually helped create more than a lots firms that bring the innovations and also techniques established at the institute to the marketplace.