10/03/2012 03:00:00 CEST The German high-tech engineering firm Manz will present a technological breakthrough at the Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition (PV Taiwan) on October 3 to 5 in Taipei. At booth A0237, Manz will show its CIGS panel that – with a module efficiency of 14.6% and an aperture efficiency of 15.9% – set a world record for thin-film solar modules.
- Cost of solar power now at similar level as electricity from fossil power plants and significantly less expensive than electricity from offshore wind parks
- Efficient production technology used in Manz CIGSfab cuts manufacturing costs
Taoyuan/Reutlingen, October 3, 2012. The German high-tech engineering firm Manz will present a technological breakthrough at the Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition (PV Taiwan) on October 3 to 5 in Taipei. At booth A0237, Manz will show its CIGS panel that – with a module efficiency of 14.6% and an aperture efficiency of 15.9% – set a world record for thin-film solar modules.
"Our technology has the potential to revolutionize the solar industry", says Dieter Manz, founder and CEO of Manz AG. The panel surpassed both the world record for module efficiency, as well as the record for aperture efficiency. In addition, the technology has pulled even with polycrystalline solar panels in terms of efficiency. "As a result, we were able to make up for thin-film technology's only drawback up until now, namely the lower efficiency rates – since when it comes to production costs, thin-film is already much less expensive to produce," explains Dieter Manz. This means the cost of solar power is now at similar level as electricity from fossil power plants and is significantly less expensive than electricity from offshore wind parks. “Moreover, the CIGS technology is nowhere near its limit”, says the CEO. Manz’ exclusive development partner, the Baden-Württemberg Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW), has already achieved an efficiency of 20.3% in a laboratory, which shows the great potential of further increase of efficiency.
In addition to that, Manz has cut down investment costs for its fully automated production line for CIGS modules, the Manz CIGSfab. This was primarily made possible thanks to new developments related to the systems in the process, such as the CIGS co-evaporator, a significant increase in throughput, and the standardization of the equipment used. The manufacturing costs using a CIGSfab production line with an annual capacity of 200 MW equal only $0.55/Wp. In fact, these costs fall to below $0.40/Wp in factories producing in the Gigawatts. In comparison, Chinese crystalline solar cell manufacturers' production costs are close to $1/Wp on average, and the lion's share is sold for less than the production costs.
Presenting its new record in Taiwan the German manufacturer Manz also shows its deep understanding of the market and the strong commitment to its customers in Asia. Manz has various facilities in Mainland China and Taiwan. “We need to be close to the big players in our target industries in order to react to their fast-evolving need for ever more efficient high-tech-machinery”, emphasizes Dieter Manz.
PV Taiwan is organized by TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), SEMI and TPVIA and attracted more than 11,000 visitors last year. It is the largest PV Exhibition and Forum in Taiwan.
