PV Module Development Laboratory

This advanced tool uses thermally induced mechanical stress to separate brittle semiconductor materials like silicon wafers. As opposed to conventional laser cutting, no bulging and no formation of particles occur, because the substrate is merely heated and not vaporised. The mechanical stability of TLS processed solar cells is significantly greater than conventionally processed solar cells. The tool is used at SERIS for cutting fullsize silicon solar cells in half, for example for making PV modules with shingled solar cells.

This machine is used for the automatic soldering of metal ribbons onto solar cells and interconnecting solar cells into strings. SERIS’ customised TT1800 stringer is capable of interconnecting standard silicon solar cells with up to 6 busbars as well as interdigitated-back-contact solar cells. Both full-size cells and half-cut cells can be processed.

Soldering station used for making spot repairs to solar cell strings or manual ribbon soldering.

This single-chamber semi-automatic laminator has a large lamination area of up to 2600 x 1500 mm. Using a membrane vacuum system to apply pressure, the tool is rated to handle up to 20 mm thick glass-glass modules with an operating temperature of up to 180°C.

This machine is used for the continuous processing of precrushed silicon solar modules into separate components for material recovery during recycling. In contrast to high temperature separation processes such as furnaces which burn off the encapsulant, this plant operates by generating shockwaves through high-voltage arc discharges. The shockwaves travel through a working fluid to separate the constituent materials within a solar module stack based on their different acoustic properties. SERIS uses this tool to recover silicon cells, metal ribbons and even encapsulant materials for further recycling.

Located on the rooftop of CleanTech One, the outdoor BIPV testbed features a 5 m × 2 m vertical racking system oriented in the four principal directions. Equipped with a state-of-the-art weather and performance monitoring system, the testbed is designed for flexibility – supporting different BIPV module types and accommodating a variety of mounting and interconnection strategies.