Polaris Solar PV News: The Korean company Hanwha SolarOne demonstrated the first commercial-scale solar panels made using the new silicon wafer manufacturing technology. In solar cells, these silicon wafers are the most expensive components. This new technology was developed by Crystal Solar, a startup company in Santa Clara, Calif., and uses it to produce wafers that are less than one-third the thickness of conventional wafers. This technology wastes less silicon than traditional processes during manufacturing, and significantly reduces the amount of equipment needed to make wafers, thus potentially reducing wafer costs by half. Wafers account for 1/3 or even half of the entire solar panel manufacturing cost. Hanwha purchased a $15 million worth of Crystal Solar shares and helped it bring the technology to market.
The new technology and the relationship between Hanwha and Crystal Solar can be examples of how to continue to reduce the cost of traditional silicon solar cells. A few years ago, the outlook for solar panels with a manufacturing cost of less than US$1 per watt seemed far-fetched. This view led investors to invest their money in other technologies that could replace silicon solar panels, such as thin films. Solar battery.
However, the current manufacturing cost of solar panels has indeed been reduced to less than US$1 per watt, which has led to the bankruptcy of many start-up companies engaged in thin film solar cells. Crystal did not try to develop a new technology that could challenge silicon solar panels, but instead developed new technologies that could be easily integrated into existing silicon panel manufacturing. Moreover, it does not manufacture solar panels by itself, but cooperates with Hanwha subsidiary companies that already have manufacturing experience. Start-up companies generally lack manufacturing experience, many of which fail because they cannot reduce manufacturing costs.
The general manufacturing method of a conventional solar cell silicon wafer includes the following steps: high-purity silicon (polysilicon) is first made, then the polysilicon is melted, and then carefully cooled to obtain a single-crystal silicon rod, and then the silicon crystal rod is cut Wafers. The entire process requires expensive large equipment, and half of the expensive high-purity silicon is wasted.
In the early stages of the traditional production process, pure silicon is extracted from a gas containing silicon and other elements. Crystal Solar has developed a method that can directly fabricate crystalline silicon wafers from this gas, eliminating the step of making polysilicon, allowing it to melt, crystallize, and then cut. Chip manufacturing is also using this type of process, but this version is much more efficient and faster.
Chris Eberspacher, chief technology officer of Hanwha New Energy, said that this approach not only reduces the waste of silicon, but also eliminates most of the expensive equipment needed to make wafers, thus reducing costs. Ebeschpeich said that for Hanwha, developing similar technologies by himself is not only risky but also takes several years. Therefore, the company decided to replace it with a search for a startup company to obtain innovation. "With this approach, we don't have to choose a technology," he said. "We can look at the technologies that startups are developing and select the best ones. This makes our actions faster."
Ebeschpeich said that Crystal Solar is still trying to reduce costs, such as reducing the cost of machine-made wafers and increasing the number of wafers they can produce. He said that if Crystal Solar's technology continues to reach new milestones, Hanwha will be able to launch commercial products made using this technology in 2014.
The new technology and the relationship between Hanwha and Crystal Solar can be examples of how to continue to reduce the cost of traditional silicon solar cells. A few years ago, the outlook for solar panels with a manufacturing cost of less than US$1 per watt seemed far-fetched. This view led investors to invest their money in other technologies that could replace silicon solar panels, such as thin films. Solar battery.
However, the current manufacturing cost of solar panels has indeed been reduced to less than US$1 per watt, which has led to the bankruptcy of many start-up companies engaged in thin film solar cells. Crystal did not try to develop a new technology that could challenge silicon solar panels, but instead developed new technologies that could be easily integrated into existing silicon panel manufacturing. Moreover, it does not manufacture solar panels by itself, but cooperates with Hanwha subsidiary companies that already have manufacturing experience. Start-up companies generally lack manufacturing experience, many of which fail because they cannot reduce manufacturing costs.
The general manufacturing method of a conventional solar cell silicon wafer includes the following steps: high-purity silicon (polysilicon) is first made, then the polysilicon is melted, and then carefully cooled to obtain a single-crystal silicon rod, and then the silicon crystal rod is cut Wafers. The entire process requires expensive large equipment, and half of the expensive high-purity silicon is wasted.
In the early stages of the traditional production process, pure silicon is extracted from a gas containing silicon and other elements. Crystal Solar has developed a method that can directly fabricate crystalline silicon wafers from this gas, eliminating the step of making polysilicon, allowing it to melt, crystallize, and then cut. Chip manufacturing is also using this type of process, but this version is much more efficient and faster.
Chris Eberspacher, chief technology officer of Hanwha New Energy, said that this approach not only reduces the waste of silicon, but also eliminates most of the expensive equipment needed to make wafers, thus reducing costs. Ebeschpeich said that for Hanwha, developing similar technologies by himself is not only risky but also takes several years. Therefore, the company decided to replace it with a search for a startup company to obtain innovation. "With this approach, we don't have to choose a technology," he said. "We can look at the technologies that startups are developing and select the best ones. This makes our actions faster."
Ebeschpeich said that Crystal Solar is still trying to reduce costs, such as reducing the cost of machine-made wafers and increasing the number of wafers they can produce. He said that if Crystal Solar's technology continues to reach new milestones, Hanwha will be able to launch commercial products made using this technology in 2014.
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