Imagine a solar panel that acts like a sponge for sunlight, soaking up almost every single ray instead of letting them bounce off. This technology uses tiny, precision-engineered surface patterns to trap light more effectively, even in ultra-thin wafers. It also swaps out expensive, rare metals like silver for cheaper, abundant materials like copper and aluminum.
Solar cell manufacturers face a ceiling in efficiency and high costs due to the reliance on expensive materials like silver and indium. Additionally, traditional light-trapping textures are reaching their physical limits.
A beam shaping module for 532 nm ps lasers and a series of high-efficiency IBC solar cells using Ag-free metallization and advanced surface passivation.
If you are a solar cell manufacturer dealing with high material costs and efficiency plateaus — this project developed Ag-free metallization and photonic light management that targets efficiencies of 26% for thin wafers and 27% for thick cells.
If you are an equipment provider dealing with the need for extreme precision in wafer processing — this project developed a beam shaping module capable of creating a spots line of 1mm with a 1um spot size using a 532 nm ps laser.
If you are a producer dealing with supply chain risks of critical materials like indium or silver — this project developed a production method using abundant aluminum and copper to ensure low-resistive contacts (<1 mOhm.cm²).
The project reduces costs by replacing expensive silver and critical materials like indium with inexpensive and abundant materials such as aluminum and copper.
Yes, the project aims to transfer lab processes to high-throughput industrial methods (TRL5) using rapid laser patterning and atmospheric dry etching.
Based on available project data, the project is developing optimized photonic structures and a specific beam shaping module, though specific licensing terms are not listed.
The project includes a dedicated work package (WP6) to demonstrate sustainability, environmental impact, and circularity of the BURST technology.
The project period runs from 2024-05-01 to 2027-04-30, with goals to reach TRL 4-5 for industrial process viability.
The consortium is well-balanced for technology transfer, consisting of 9 partners across 6 countries. With a 33% industry ratio (3 companies, including 3 SMEs), the project blends academic research from 2 universities and 4 research institutes with commercial application, ensuring that the TRL 5 goals are grounded in industrial reality.
Contact INSTITUT FUR SOLARENERGIEFORSCHUNG GMBH (ISFH) in Germany
Contact us to identify licensing opportunities for Ag-free metallization and laser-structuring modules.
