The Berlin-based company Solyco Solar AG has won the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize for its »TECC-Connect« technology. From over 100 entries, the jury selected five pioneering innovations and gave honourable mentions to a further five companies. The winners will share a total prize fund of €75,000.
TECC-Connect allows the industrial production of solar modules without using silver, lead or bismuth. »TECC enables us to achieve material independence from silver and ensures full RoHS compliance,« says Lars Podlowski, Solyco’s CEO, who is currently in Asia marketing the technology and transitioning it to series production. Larger quantities of TECC Connect modules could thus enter the market from 2026, Podlowski told PHOTON. According to Solyco, eliminating silver could reduce material costs in module production by up to ten percent.
TECC stands for »Thermoplastic and Electrically Conductive Coating« and is a process patented by Solyco in the EU, US and China. It involves using special plastic coatings instead of soldered connections. This process is similar to multibusbar technology, where the wires are coated with an electrically conductive thermoplastic rather than a solder alloy. This innovation replaces environmentally harmful materials and enables lower process temperatures. »TECC-Connect is ideal for particularly high-efficiency cell generations, such as heterojunction and perovskite tandem solar cells,« according to a statement from Solyco. All standard quality and durability tests have been passed.
The Innovation Award forms part of the implementation of the joint innovation strategy of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg (InnoBB 2025). It aims to showcase innovative developments in healthcare, energy technology, information and communication technology, media and creative industries, optics and photonics, transport, mobility and logistics, and emphasise the capital region’s innovative strength.
© PHOTON
