L R AS Published on Monday 2 September 2019 - n° 287 - Categories:brochures
Cell format war bounces back with 12-inch (210 mm)
Zhonghuan Semiconductor presents a 12-inch wafer. The manufacturer claims that this wafer improves the efficiency of a panel. If used with a P-type PERC panel, it could have an output power of 610 W with 60 cells, using half-cut solar cells.
This insert is 75% larger than conventional G1 inserts: this 12-inch format is 210 mm long and compares to the traditional 156.75 mm (M2). It is even superior to the 166 mm LONGi recommended products manufactured since 2018. The diagonal is 295 mm, compared to a conventional size of approximately 223 mm. This insert increased the conversion rate by 0.9%, bringing it to 20%.
The company is working with partners to create a more cost-effective and efficient platform for the solar market. This new format would reduce the cost of equipment (BoS), energy (LCOE) and increase profitability. Such a format would stimulate the development of the entire global market.
PV Magazine of 16 August
Editor's note Once it was found that the larger the cell surface area, the fewer unnecessary gaps there are and the more it produces. There is no longer any limit to the increase in size, except the ability to produce such a wafer format. This 12-inch format cannot fit into current production processes. It forces manufacturers to change equipment. As a result, the adoption of this format will be slow.
We can count on the industrial power of Zhonghuan Semiconductor to gradually impose this format. It announced in early 2019 that it wanted to reach a wafer production capacity of 40 GW, then announced a collaboration with GCL for another 25 GW plant. This is to be compared with a probable 2019 installation of 120 GW
