First Solar commissions solar R&D centre
Published by Theodore Reed-Martin,
Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,
First Solar, Inc. has commissioned a new research and development (R&D) innovation centre in Lake Township, Ohio, believed to be the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation is dedicated to the late James F. Nolan, a former member of First Solar’s Board of Directors and the architect of the company’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor platform.
The facility covers 1.3 ft2 and includes a high-tech pilot manufacturing line allowing for the production of full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem photovoltaic (PV) modules. Prior to the commissioning of the Jim Nolan Center, First Solar utilised a manufacturing line at its Perrysburg facility for its late-stage product development efforts. This arrangement limited the flexibility for development efforts and created constraints when mission-critical tools had to go offline. By resolving these limitations and constraints, the new facility is expected to accelerate innovation cycles.
"Thin films are the next technological battleground for the solar industry because they are key to commercialising tandem devices, which are anticipated to be the next disruption in photovoltaics," said Mark Widmar, CEO, First Solar. "While the US leads the world in thin film PV, China is racing to close the innovation gap. We expect that this crucial investment in R&D infrastructure will help maintain our nation's strategic advantage in thin film, accelerating the cycles of innovation needed to ensure that the next disruptive, transformative solar technology will be American-made."
The Jim Nolan Center is part of an approximately half-billion-dollar investment by First Solar in R&D infrastructure, and the company expects to also commission a perovskite development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio, campus in 2H24. The company, which has invested almost US$2 billion in R&D, operates laboratories in Santa Clara, California, and Perrysburg, Ohio, in the US, and Uppsala in Sweden. Significantly, First Solar’s California Technology Center (CTC) in Santa Clara recently achieved a 23.1% efficient CdTe cell, a new world record certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/19072024/first-solar-commissions-solar-rd-centre/
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