More wires for larger cells

Somewhat less publicized than the recent move to larger wafer formats from China’s cell suppliers has been accompanying growth in multi-busbar cell interconnection strategies, which typically forego flat ribbons in favor of round wires to carry a charge generated in a cell out into the system. This brings benefits in module performance and can also reduce silver content in the cells. Equipment suppliers in Europe, however, see several problems in the processing of round wires that could risk performance and quality issues, and will need to be ironed out for the technology to gain further ground.