R2R-CIGS · Roll-to-roll manufacturing of high efficiency and low cost flexible CIGS solar modules

CIGS solar module technology on rigid glass substrate is already mature and industrial companies are producing hundreds of MWp each year. Bringing flexible CIGS solar modules to industrial maturity will yield the next breakthrough for further cost reduction by taking into account the inherent advantages of thin film technology, e.g. high throughput and large scale coating with less energy and material consumption.The aim of R2R-CIGS is to develop efficient flexible solar modules by implementing innovative cost-effective processes such that production costs below 0.5 €/Wp can be achieved in large volume factories with annual capacity of 500MWp in future.The main objectives of this project are:• Flexible solar cells on polymer film with 20% efficiency and mini-module with 16% efficiency by control of composition gradient, surface, and interface properties on nano-scale• Transfer of innovative buffer layer process for roll-to-roll manufacturing and replacing problematic CBD-CdS by higher yield processes such as (spatial) ALD and ultrasonic spray• Developing fully laser based patterning technology for monolithic interconnection in R2R pilot-line• Scale-up of static multi-stage CIGS deposition process from laboratory scale towards inline R2R compatible processes• Implementation of the up-scaled multi-stage CIGS deposition process into pilot lines for R2R manufacturing of flexible CIGS modules• Development of moisture barrier with WVTR < 5x10-4 g/m2/d and cost-effective encapsulation• Decrease cost of ownership for enabling production costs below 0.5 €/Wp for a commercial plant with annual production of 500 MWp in future""