06/10/2011 16:43:00 CEST
- One-Step Selective Emitter honored as an outstanding new product presented at the trade show
- Product ensures that customers can compete during the consolidation of the market for crystalline solar cells caused by excess capacities
- With the Selective Emitter, Manz has established itself as a supplier of high-precision processing equipment
Munich/Reutlingen, June 14, 2011. The Intersolar Award 2011 in the “PV Production Technology” category goes to the international engineering firm Manz Automation AG for its Manz One-Step Selective Emitter. The independent jury of experts stated that their decision was due to the particular efficiency and profitability of the process. “We have the right product at the right time,” said Dieter Manz, the company’s founder, at an analyst conference at the world’s largest solar industry trade show, the Intersolar in Munich, “since the long-awaited consolidation in the market for crystalline solar cells means that manufacturers will only survive when they invest in high-tech equipment to increase efficiency in order to cut costs. The jury’s decision to give the award to our Selective Emitter is a perfect reflection of the current trends in the solar market.”
Industry observers had already pointed out before the Intersolar that declining feed-in tariffs, excess capacities, and the resulting price pressure would bring about a turning point in the solar industry. That’s why future decisions to invest in solar equipment will have an even stronger focus on efficiency and low production costs.
The One-Step Selective Emitter from Manz offers an increase in efficiency of up to one-half of a percent while simultaneously cutting production costs thanks to a laser-based process generates highly-doped areas in a crystalline silicon solar cell’s emitter. Users also do not need any additional consumables and it only requires a minimal amount of energy. The specially-tailored laser profile makes efficiency increases possible without damaging the emitter, and at the same time reduces the use of chemicals in solar cell production which are harmful to the environment. In addition, the low additional production costs make the “Manz One-Step SE” profitable after only one year.
The high-tech engineering firm Manz views the award as recognition of the company’s expertise and innovative spirit in the field of processing equipment. “We began as an automation specialist over 20 years ago. Today photovoltaics is only one of three growth markets we develop process technologies for. Efficiency and cutting our customers’ costs is always our number 1 goal, and this also applies to our other two future markets, namely touch screens and lithium-ion batteries”, explained Mr. Manz, the company’s CEO.
The Intersolar Award honors the industry’s three most innovative companies in each of three categories. A total of 125 companies from 15 different countries submitted applications.
