Epishine’s unique production process brings further advancements to the solar energy industry
Swedish Epishine has made advancements for printed outdoor organic photovoltaics within the Solar Era funded project NFA4R2ROPV thanks to their breakthrough manufacturing process of roll-to-roll printed solar cells.
Energy forecasts predominantly predict that solar energy will be the main energy source in the world in the foreseeable future, but its evolution will be shaped by developments in solar energy technologies. Resource efficient, sustainable and scalable processes for photovoltaics are of the utmost importance to align the market's demand with the production possibilities while maintaining high efficiency and sustainability as the focus.
“This project is an important step for Epishine. Through our established manufacturing process for the indoor market, we are increasing the pace of change within BIPV and utility-scale products, alongside our indoor advancements. This aligns with the sustainability focus that is at Epishine’s core, as well as our vision of becoming the global leader in roll-to-roll printed solar cells,” said Mattias Josephson VP Business Development at Epishine.
Researchers at Epishine are paving the way for future hybrid and outdoor applications with these modules. A key aspect in the rapid development time for this project is the patented manufacturing process that the company has developed for their indoor products. They are thrilled with the efficiency of their latest solar cell stack. Despite still having some distance to go before reaching the efficiency of silicon, the 8-9% efficiency achieved in the project is a big step forward for printed organic photovoltaics manufactured in an industrial roll-to-roll process. This achievement shows promise for the future, particularly as printable active materials are advancing rapidly.
Epishine’s roll-to-roll process is an energy efficient and easily scalable way to manufacture solar cells, and also has a minimal environmental footprint. This process enables the product to have a short energy payback time and uses a minimum amount of materials, making it highly cost-effective and environmentally friendly. This project proves that this established process for indoor applications is adaptable to a variety of hybrid and outdoor products.
“Our latest advancements in this break new ground, not only as a future outdoor or hybrid product for us, but the bigger picture here is a potential new paradigm for the OPV community. The short development time to reach these results marks only the beginning of the advancements we will be able to make in the coming years,” stressed Thomas Österberg, RnD Director at Epishine.
Epishine will continue focusing on indoor solar cells for low-power electronics, but participating in different development projects like this aligns with their broader goal to contribute to industry advancements and a more sustainable future.
Caption: Epishine is a leading developer and manufacturer of printed organic solar cells (photo: Epishine)