| PV Future Technologies Review |
7 |
| Introduction to the 3rd Edition |
7 |
| Part I - Economic Effects Shaping Technology Directions |
8 |
| Section Index |
8 |
| 1. The Solar PV Market |
8 |
| 1.1 Who are the real customers? |
8 |
| 1.2 Solar powered “battery driven” products |
9 |
| 1.3 Off grid solar powered applications |
9 |
| 1.4 Off-grid electricity supply |
9 |
| 1.5 Renewable generation of electricity for the electricity grids |
10 |
| 1.6 Renewable micro-generation of electricity for the electricity grids |
11 |
| 1.7 Building Integrated PV (BIPV) Market |
11 |
| 2. Forces shaping the success/price of a PV technology |
12 |
| 2.1 Technological Advantage v Economies of Scale |
12 |
| 2.2 Strategy Rules for successfully getting new solar PV technologies to market |
14 |
| 2.3 Funding Dynamics behind new technologies |
15 |
| 3. The solar PV industry cost drive to grid parity |
18 |
| 3.1 Cost of What? |
18 |
| 3.2 Cost per Watt ($/Wp) of solar PV modules |
18 |
| 3.3 Installed system cost |
26 |
| 3.4 Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) |
28 |
| 4. Drive for Higher Efficiency |
29 |
| 5. Efficiency - from Lab to Field |
31 |
| 6. Do standard test conditions paint an accurate picture of “Efficiency”? |
32 |
| 7. Impact of “Game Playing” on a more competitive PV industry |
37 |
| 7.1 Manufacturers and Governments/Regulators |
37 |
| 7.2 Manufacturers and Suppliers |
38 |
| 7.3 Manufacturers and their Competitors |
38 |
| 7.4 Manufactures and their Customers |
39 |
| 8. The Risks of the Business - (Chaos Theory) |
40 |
| 8.1 Risks facing all industries |
40 |
| 8.2 Risks particular to the solar PV industry |
41 |
| 8.3 Risks particular to a specific solar PV technology |
42 |
| 8.4 Risks specific to the particular commercial enterprise |
44 |
| 8.5 Risk Summary |
45 |
| 9. What is Characterising the Solar PV Industry today |
46 |
| 10. Forecasting Technology Progress over the next 5 Years |
47 |
| Part II - Review of Critical Materials |
49 |
| Section Index |
49 |
| 1. General Introduction |
49 |
| 2. Polysilicon |
51 |
| 2.1 Introduction |
51 |
| 2.2 Established Silicon Refining Technologies for polysilicon |
51 |
| 2.3 Emerging Scene of Silicon Refining Technologies for polysilicon |
55 |
| 2.4 Implications for the solar PV industry |
60 |
| 2.5 Polysilicon Suppliers |
61 |
| 3. Indium |
62 |
| 3.1 General Introduction |
62 |
| 3.2 Forces that will determine the market price of indium |
62 |
| 3.3 Market Prices and Trends |
68 |
| 3.4 Indium Suppliers |
70 |
| 4. Tellurium |
71 |
| 4.1 General Introduction |
71 |
| 4.2 Forces Determining the Price of tellurium |
71 |
| 4.3 Market Prices and trends |
72 |
| 4.4 Tellurium Suppliers |
73 |
| 5. Gallium |
74 |
| 5.1 General Introduction |
74 |
| 5.2 Forces determining the price of gallium |
74 |
| 5.3 Market prices and trends |
75 |
| 5.4 Gallium Suppliers |
75 |
| 6. Germanium |
76 |
| 6.1 General Introduction |
76 |
| 6.2 Forces determining the price of germanium |
76 |
| 6.3 Market prices and trends |
77 |
| 6.4 Germanium Suppliers |
78 |
| 7. Molybdenum |
79 |
| 7.1 General introduction |
79 |
| 7.2 Forces determining the price of molybdenum |
79 |
| 7.3 Market Prices and trends |
80 |
| 7.4 Molybdenum Suppliers |
80 |
| 8. Cadmium |
81 |
| 8.1 Cadmium Suppliers |
81 |
| 9. Pastes |
82 |
| 9.1 Metallization paste |
82 |
| 9.2 Alternatives to Pastes |
83 |
| 10. Glass and Alternatives to Glass |
84 |
| 10.1 Glass |
84 |
| 10.2 Alternatives to Glass |
84 |
| 10.3 Glass Suppliers |
84 |
| 11. Other Materials |
85 |
| 11.1 Backsheet |
85 |
| 11.2 Lamination encapsulent |
85 |
| Part III - Key machines used in the factory processes |
86 |
| Section Index |
86 |
| 1. Introduction |
86 |
| 2. Semiconductor deposition technologies |
87 |
| 2.1 Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) |
87 |
| 2.2 Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) |
87 |
| 2.3 Molecular Beam Epitaxy |
92 |
| 2.4 Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) |
93 |
| 2.5 Laser Pyrolysis |
95 |
| 3. Diffusion Furnaces |
96 |
| 3.1 List of Diffusion Furnace Suppliers |
97 |
| 4. “Printing” deposition technologies |
98 |
| 4.1 Introduction |
98 |
| 4.2 Screen Printing |
98 |
| 4.3 Inkjet Printing |
99 |
| 4.4 Spray Coating |
101 |
| 4.5 Deposition of the PV active material |
101 |
| 4.6 Focused Flow Extrusion (from PARC) |
102 |
| 4.7 Light Induced Printing (Electroplating) |
102 |
| 5. Other Deposition Processes |
103 |
| 5.1 Chemical Bath Deposition |
103 |
| 5.2 Ultrasonic Direct Energy Plating |
103 |
| 5.3 Close Space Sublimation |
103 |
| 5.4 Vapour Transport Deposition |
104 |
| 6. Semiconductor Wafer Cutting |
105 |
| 6.1 Saw Technology |
105 |
| 6.2 Cleaving technology |
106 |
| 6.3 Future Developments |
106 |
| 6.4 List of Suppliers |
107 |
| 7. Laser Technology |
108 |
| Part IV - Factory Processes for PV Technologies |
111 |
| Section Index |
111 |
| 1. Introduction |
111 |
| 2. Silicon crystalline PV technologies |
112 |
| 2.1 Monocrystalline Ingot production |
112 |
| 2.2 Polycrystalline Ingot Production |
112 |
| 2.3 Cell production |
113 |
| 2.4 Panel Production |
116 |
| 3. Thin Film Production Processes |
119 |
| 3.1 Production process for a-Si (amorphous silicon) solar PV cells |
119 |
| 3.2 Production process for CIS/CIGS Technology solar PV cells |
123 |
| 3.3 Production process for CdTe Technology solar PV cells |
125 |
| Part V - Factual Survey of PV Technologies |
128 |
| Section Index |
128 |
| Section Pre-amble:- Explanation of the organisation of this section |
128 |
| 1. Monocrystalline Solar PV Technology |
130 |
| 1.1 “Benchmark” Sawn Wafer Technology |
130 |
| 1.2 Thinner Silicon Wafer Technology |
133 |
| 1.3 Edge Defined Film-fed Growth Process (EFG) |
135 |
| 1.4 String Ribbon |
137 |
| 1.5 Monocrystalline - Back-Contact SunPower Technology |
140 |
| 1.6 Sanyo HIT Technology |
141 |
| 1.7 Suntech Pluto Technology (variant of the PERL technology) |
143 |
| 1.8 n-Type Monocrystalline Silicon PV Cells |
144 |
| 1.9 Monocrystalline - Silicon Sliver Cells |
145 |
| 1.9 Spherical Solar Cell |
147 |
| 2. Multicrystalline - Benchmark Silicon Sawn Wafer Technology |
150 |
| 2.1 Benchmark Silicon Sawn Wafer Technology |
150 |
| 2.2 Back-Contact EWT Technology |
152 |
| 2.3 Angle Buried Contact (ABC) Cell |
154 |
| 2.4 Selective Emitter Cell |
155 |
| 2.5 Light Capturing Ribbon |
157 |
| 3. Thin Film |
160 |
| 3.1 a-Si Family (including single, tandem and triple junctions) |
160 |
| 3.2 CIS Family of solar PV technology |
169 |
| 3.3 Thin film - CdTe Family of solar PV Technology |
180 |
| 3.4 CTZSS (Copper (Cu), Tin (Sn), Zinc (Zn), Sulfur (S), and/or Selenium (Se)) |
184 |
| 3.5 Crystalline Silicon on Glass (CSG) |
185 |
| 3.6 FeS2 (Iron Pyrite) Solar PV Cell |
188 |
| 4. Very High Performance PV Cells |
190 |
| 4.1 Single and Double junction (GaAs) |
190 |
| 4.2 Multi-junction (GaAs) |
191 |
| 4.3 Indium, Gallium, Nitrogen (Full Spectrum) |
196 |
| 4.4 Gallium Nitride/silicon tandem solar cell. |
197 |
| 5. Third Generation |
199 |
| 5.1 Dye Sensitised |
199 |
| 5.2 Third Generation - Organic Polymer |
206 |
| 5.3 Nano-technology (Quantum dots) |
212 |
| 5.4 Multi-junction Nanowire PV Cells |
220 |
| 5.5 List of Suppliers of Third Generation PV Technologies |
221 |
| 6. Concentrator PV Technology |
222 |
| 6.1 Low Concentration PV (LCPV) (Under 5 suns) |
223 |
| 6.2 High Concentration PV (HCPV) (Over 5 suns and typically 500 suns) |
228 |
| 6.3 Combined CPV Electricity and Direct Heating Systems |
239 |
| 6.4 - List of CPV suppliers |
243 |
| Part VI Thermo PV Technology (TPV) |
244 |
| Section Index |
244 |
| 1. Introduction |
244 |
| 2. PV Cell Technology |
245 |
| 3. Filters |
245 |
| 4. System Efficiency |
245 |
| 5. Cell Efficiency |
245 |
| 6. Industrial Capacity |
246 |
| 7. Future Research Directions |
247 |
| Part VII Innovative Solar PV Films, Cells, Panels & Designs |
248 |
| Section Index |
248 |
| 1. Transparent Solar Cells |
248 |
| 2. Coloured Solar PV Modules |
251 |
| 3. Innovative Panel Designs (Roof Tiles and Shingles) |
253 |
| 4. Combined PV Flat Panel and Thermal Water Heating |
256 |
| 5. Building Integrated PV |
259 |
| 6. Other Innovations |
260 |
| 6.1 Light Wavelength Conversion Films and Luminescent solar concentrators |
260 |
| 6.2 Light Splitting PV Receiver |
261 |
| 6.3 Integrated solar power electronic circuits |
262 |
| 6.4 Microscopic solar cells for attachment to fabrics |
262 |
| 6.5 Solar Roads |
262 |
| 7. Silexium SiC Anti-reflective coating solution |
263 |
| Part VIII - Solar PV Generated AC Energy |
264 |
| Section Index |
264 |
| Sections Pre-amble Introduction |
264 |
| 1. Inverters |
265 |
| 1.1 The architecture of inverters to solar PV modules |
265 |
| 1.2 The Basic efficiency of Inverters |
266 |
| 1.3 List of Suppliers |
267 |
| 2. Charge Controllers |
268 |
| 3. Mounts and Trackers |
269 |
| 3.1 Fixed Mounts |
269 |
| 3.2 Single-Axis Trackers and Mounts |
269 |
| 3.3 Two-axis Mounts |
270 |
| 3.4 Tracker Drives |
270 |
| 3.5 List of Suppliers |
271 |
| 4. Batteries |
272 |
| 4.1 The Lead Acid Battery Evolution |
272 |
| 4.2 Other types of batteries currently in use |
272 |
| 4.3 Future Developments in Battery Technology |
272 |
| 4.4 List of Suppliers |
275 |
| 5. Other Innovations |
276 |
| 5.1 Solar Panel Automated Cleaning |
276 |
| 5.2 Solar PV Farm Fault Monitoring |
276 |
| Part IX - The Solar Powered Products Revolution |
277 |
| Section Index |
277 |
| 1. Solar Applications Product Market |
277 |
| 2. Markets |
278 |
| 3. Technology |
279 |
| 3.1 Solar Cells Only |
279 |
| 3.2 Solar Cells Plus Motor |
279 |
| 3.3 Solar Cells Plus Battery Plus Motor |
280 |
| 3.4 Solar Cells Plus Battery Plus Lights |
281 |
| 3.5 Solar Cells Plus Portable Electronic Device |
283 |
| 3.6 Solar Cells Plus Battery Plus Portable Electronic Device |
283 |
| 3.7 Solar Cells Plus Battery Plus Static Electronic Device |
283 |
| 4. List of Suppliers |
284 |
| 5. Discussion and Conclusion |
285 |
| Part X - Quality and Reliability of Solar PV Systems |
286 |
| Section Index |
286 |
| 1. The Solar PV Quality System |
286 |
| 2. Material Quality Control |
287 |
| 3. Factory Testing |
288 |
| 4. Quality Standards and Certification by third party testers |
289 |
| 5. Feedback from the field |
290 |
| 6. Research programmes to address particular issues |
292 |
| Part XI - Survey of Solar PV Research in University & Public/Private Research Laboratories |
293 |
| Section Index |
293 |
| 1. Introduction |
293 |
| 2. ENF survey of solar PV research |
295 |
| America - North |
295 |
| America South |
312 |
| Asia |
313 |
| Australasia |
327 |
| Europe |
329 |
| Middle-east and Africa |
357 |
| Annex - ENF Classification of Research into Solar PV Technologies |
360 |
| Part XII - Glossary of Terms used in the Solar PV Industry |
361 |