On April 2, 2008, Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado USA, announced an agreement with ICP Solar to provide thin-film photovoltaic (PV) material to ICP Solar in 2008 and 2009. ICP Solar will then integrate the thin-film PV material into portable power and other electronic products with PV integration. Ascent Solar Technologies has a roll-to-roll production line capable of manufacturing 1.5MW (per year?). Thin-film PVs generally lag behind semiconductor-based PVs but Ascent reported average efficiencies of 9.5%, which was better than expected. Uniformity standards of +/-3% width-wise and +/-2% length-wise were met and limited commercial production is slated to commence in late Q2′08 according to Ascent.
The thin-film PV material is placed on flexible and lightweight plastic substrates that improve durability over glass substrates. Plastic substrates have the potential to lower the cost of manufacturing for thin-film PVs as well.
Source: Compound Semiconductors Online
[tags]Ascent Solar Technologies, ICP Solar, Plastic Substrate, PV, Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing, Thin-Film Photovoltaic[/tags]
You must log in to post a comment.