Imagine making solar panels like printing a newspaper, but instead of ink, we use a faster way to lay down metal. By swapping expensive silver for cheaper copper and fixing tiny edge damages, the panels capture more sunlight. It's like upgrading a factory line to be faster, cheaper, and more efficient all at once.
Solar manufacturers rely on expensive silver and inefficient screen printing, which limits the scale and profitability of Tera-Watt production. Current equipment lacks the throughput and cost-efficiency needed for European manufacturing leadership.
High-throughput TRL7 equipment and processes for copper metallization, light soaking post-processing, and shingling interconnection.
If you are a PV cell manufacturer dealing with high material costs of silver—this project developed copper-based metallization that could reduce the cost of ownership by 20%. This allows for Tera-Watt scale production without the price volatility of precious metals.
If you are an equipment provider dealing with outdated screen printing methods—this project developed TRL7 high-throughput dispensing and plating equipment. This enables the sale of Industry 4.0 ready machinery for next-generation TOPCon and Heterojunction cells.
If you are a module integrator dealing with efficiency losses during cell interconnection—this project developed Twill and Shingling processes. These methods improve electrical properties and aesthetics while increasing absolute efficiency by 0.5%.
It aims for a 20% reduction in cost of ownership by replacing expensive silver with copper and increasing equipment productivity.
Yes, the project targets TRL7 and will demonstrate processes within physical pilots at industrial partners to ensure high volume manufacturing readiness.
Based on available project data, the project develops new equipment and processes for which no HVM production equipment currently exists worldwide, suggesting high potential for new IP in the EU supply chain.
The project is active from 2025-01-01 to 2028-12-31.
The technology focuses on the back-end manufacturing steps: metallization, post-processing, and interconnection, utilizing Industry 4.0 features for integration.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with a 65% industry ratio, comprising 15 industrial partners and 6 SMEs across 11 countries. Led by Applied Materials Ireland, the group balances deep technical research (6 research centers, 1 university) with commercial application, indicating a strong push toward market entry rather than theoretical study.
Contact Applied Materials Ireland Limited regarding HVM PV equipment
Contact us to connect with the SHINE PV consortium for pilot implementation.
