PV Days 2015

150 experts from 14 countries discussed new findings from research and industry, as well as major trends of the global markets in photovoltaics have  around  during two-day-workshop PV Days at Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP in Halle. Highlights included presentations on solar modules for extreme climates, photovoltaic electric mobility, perovskites and innovative wafer and cell technologies.

After the first edition in 2014 PV Days brought gatheres again leading experts from research institutions and manufacturers."I am very pleased that the meeting was even better attended than the premiere last year. More than half of the participants came from industry. This shows that the PV Days have quickly become an important date for the sector. And it emphasizes the great importance of research and development for manufacturers, "said Professor Jörg Bagdahn, Director of  Fraunhofer CSP, at the end of the two-day conference.

The main focus of the event's eleven workshops were reliability issues, such as the life of encapsulation materials, new test methods with LED solar simulators or dealing with special loads for modules in harsh climates. Future topics such as lightweight modules or solar cells made from organic materials and perovskites, were as well part of the program. Furthermore, on tours, participants had the opportunity to get an insight into the laboratories and the technical equipment of Fraunhofer CSP.

"For me the lectures on kerfless wafering have been particularly exciting, i.e. the manufacture of silicon wafers with significantly less material loss. This trend will certainly deliver more exciting results in the upcoming years and opens up new possibilities for manufacturers. However, kerfless technolgies usually have the disadvantage that they are not compatible with the conventional methods of texturing. Here plasma texturing could be a possible alternative, as was also presented in a session at our event," says Bagdahn.