ISC Konstanz signs license agreement with FuturaSun for 1 GW »poly-Zebra« cells

At the EU PVSEC 40 photovoltaic conference held in Lisbon at the end of September, the International Solar Energy Research Center Konstanz (ISC Konstanz e.V.) signed a license agreement with the Italian module manufacturer Futurasun Srl for the production of »poly-Zebra« cells developed at the ISC. These are bifacial polycrystalline back-contact cells based on n-type silicon that, according to the ISC, can achieve efficiencies of 25 percent and more. A special feature of this cell technology is the low silver consumption, as the contacts are applied with copper using a screen printing process.
FuturaSun will produce the solar cells in China »since production in Europe is not possible in the current market situation,« the ISC said. The modules will then be manufactured in Italy.
FuturaSun had announced on Sept. 14 that it would begin construction on a cell factory with a capacity of up to ten gigawatts in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, to complement its existing plant in Taizhou. The license agreement for poly-Zebra cells covers a production volume of one gigawatt.
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