Cell Multiplication Technology from Solaria

In 2008, Solaria received IEC certification for the world’s first module manufacturing technology to incorporate semiconductor singulation processes and optical packaging technologies into crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar modules. Known as Cell Multiplication Technology (CMT), the technology significantly reduces the capital and operational costs of module manufacturing while also introducing unprecedented flexibility for optimizing c-Si module designs for specific market applications.

DESCRIPTION

High conversion efficiencies and proven reliability have made c-Si solar modules the primary choice for a range of solar applications, from residential rooftops to ground-mounted solar farms. But today’s solar markets are on the verge of dramatic change.

With grid parity nearly achieved in key energy markets, such as Italy and California, solar technologies are quickly transitioning from niche technology to mainstream energy source. As such, demand for solar products is no longer supported by generous government subsidies, and instead, is based on the technology’s ability to deliver a significant return on investment for system owners. This trend pressures the solar industry to provide module technologies that are designed to address specific market needs.

At the same time, today’s c-Si module manufacturing requires expensive customized manufacturing equipment and large facilities to achieve scale. The burdensome cost of such facilities prevents manufacturers from quickly optimizing module products for downstream market trends, thus harming the ability of c-Si to compete in energy markets.

Solaria’s technology platform is the only moduling solution that delivers the efficiency and reliability of c-Si solar cells while also enabling flexibility in module design and dramatic reductions in cost from cell to system.

INNOVATIVE ASPECT

Solaria's manufacturing process seamlessly introduces one low-cost step into the solar supply chain: cell multiplication technology (CMT). CMT functions between the cell fabrication and module assembly steps in c-Si PV manufacturing, harnessing unique packaging technology to push the limits of cell and module architecture.

Beginning with mono- or multi-crystalline silicon solar cell, Solaria’s CMT process singulates (or slices) cells into thin strips, spreads out the strips and packages them into optical casing that guides incoming light onto the strips and away from the spaces between them. The resulting module contains less than half of the solar cell material as today’s high efficiency c-Si panels but captures and converts the same amount of sunlight into electricity.

CMT leverages the same semiconductor singulation technique that allows microchip makers to cut 5,000 chips out of a single silicon wafer, without wasted silicon. Because the processes and equipment for this technique have been perfected in the semiconductor industry over decades, CMT can quickly achieve high-yields and enables rapid scalability.

CMT also opens the possibility for solar module manufacturing to use a fabless production model, where a contract manufacturer provides the production facilities, personnel and management. A fabless approach achieves high-volume production rapidly, reliably and with low costs, resulting in greater flexibility to design and implement new module products for specific market applications.

BENEFITS

Coming at a crucial time when c-Si modules will need to be tailored for individual market needs, Solaria’s CMT fundamentally changes the capital cost and engineering challenges of manufacturing optimized solar products.

By leveraging the benefit of fabless manufacturing and enabling solar modules to use less than half the solar cell material, CMT reduces the capital cost of manufacturing by 20-30%. A fabless model also avoids the burdensome capital commitments and financing models required in today’s vertically integrated manufacturing facilities. The result is a faster, more responsive moduling industry, which can quickly implement market-specific module innovations.

Combined, CMT’s improvements to cost and flexibility promise to compound the benefits of improvements in c-Si cell efficiency and performance. As the industry moves toward higher-efficiency (and thus higher cost) solar products for certain market applications, the same low-cost CMT process can more than double the performance of even the most advanced and costly solar cells. In this way, CMT delivers leveraged cost reduction throughout the upstream supply chain and enables the cost-effective deployment of advanced products that may have previously been too expensive for markets acceptance.

At grid parity, the solar industry will switch from a focus on scale and cost to a focus on market needs and product differentiation. CMT simultaneously delivers flexibility and reduced costs, readying c-Si solar to be a mainstream energy technology.