Imagine a solar panel that is as flexible as a sticker and can be cut to any shape or size. Instead of one layer of material, it uses two different types of light-catching layers stacked together to squeeze more energy out of the sun. It's designed to be printed in long rolls, making it fast and cheap to produce for everyday objects.
Current high-efficiency solar panels are rigid and expensive to customize, limiting their use in architecture and transport. There is a need for lightweight, flexible, and scalable PV that doesn't sacrifice power output.
A 100 cm² flexible tandem solar module and an AI-driven in-line defect detection system for roll-to-roll production.
If you are a BIPV manufacturer dealing with rigid, heavy panels that don't fit curved architecture — this project developed flexible, made-to-measure tandem modules that can be integrated into existing surfaces to reduce land-use conflicts.
If you are an EV OEM dealing with limited surface area for charging — this project developed lightweight, durable, thin-film PV with over 25% efficiency for 100 cm² modules that can follow the contours of a car body.
If you are a producer dealing with slow, expensive batch processing of solar cells — this project developed roll-to-roll compatible deposition and in-line quality control to enable mass production of high-power output cells.
By utilizing existing surfaces for energy generation and employing low-cost roll-to-roll fabrication, the project aims to reduce the total costs for PV.
The project focuses on roll-to-roll compatible large-area deposition and in-line quality control to ensure full industrial scale-up after the project ends.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not provided, but the project involves 6 industry partners and 5 SMEs to facilitate a pathway to mass production.
The project developed in-line quality control units for defect detection and an AI tool for the automated classification of bottom device defects.
The project runs from December 2023 to November 2026, with the goal of enabling full industrial scale-up following the project's conclusion.
The consortium is heavily geared toward commercialization, with a 43% industry ratio consisting of 6 industrial partners, including 5 SMEs. This balance between 5 universities and 3 research institutes suggests a strong pipeline from lab-scale perovskite/CIGS research to industrial roll-to-roll manufacturing across 8 countries.
Contact Universitaet Innsbruck regarding the SolMates consortium
Contact us to connect with the SolMates industrial partners for licensing discussions.
