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Innovalight Installs Inkjet System That Prints 2000 Solar Cells Per Hour

June 11, 2009 | 6 Comments

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Eindhoven, The Netherlands [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Innovalight Inc. has installed the world's first high-throughput industrial silicon-ink inkjet printing system at the company's headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The printing system was engineered and manufactured by OTB Solar in co-operation with Innovalight.

Current mass manufactured solar cells are almost four times thicker requiring more material and twice as many processing steps to convert into finished solar cells.

Using high precision touch-less inkjet printing of silicon-ink, Innovalight can halve the number of costly manufacturing steps required to produce high efficiency solar cells. In addition, the OTB printing system allows for high volume production of ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells with thicknesses as little as 50 microns. Current mass manufactured solar cells are almost four times thicker requiring more material and twice as many processing steps to convert into finished solar cells.

“In OTB Solar we found a strong partner with experience in both solar industry and inkjet printing technologies, “ said Conrad Burke, CEO of Innovalight. “The OTB Solar team delivered a very sophisticated and powerful solution to Innovalight in record time.”

Solar Energy

6 Reader Comments

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1 of 6

glenn-andersen-47991

June 12, 2009

This sounds like a very impressive technological breakthrough.

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BionHoward

June 12, 2009

With layers < 50 microns, the resulting cells / panels could be translucent leading to all kinds of building-integrated implementation possibilities. Daylighting / passive solar shading multi-function arrangements come to mind for example. Would be interesting to know what the typical panel / array efficiency is for the resulting systems out of this process? Will no doubt be an interesting new price point improving competition as well.

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reBen

June 12, 2009

I would think translucence would indicate loss of efficiency. To the extent that any light passes through the cell material, it is not available for energy capture. But I'm no physicist! I have seen BIPV cells and as I recall there is some translucency (to the ones I've seen). Hmm...

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collinar

June 16, 2009

It will be nice when we can just buy the ink, and print the cells on our own printer.

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collinar

June 16, 2009

1000 high speed OTB printers can not print as fast as 100 million existing desktop inkjet printers.

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6 of 6

June 17, 2009

I am puzzled about that with so many reports about this revolutionary technology, no where it is mentioned the actual performance of the solar cell (i.e., the efficiency). Given the fact that it is supposedly close to mass production. Does anyone know? Hope this is not another hype.

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