Sunmaxx PVT opens 50 MW PV-thermal module factory in Germany

From pv magazine Germany

Sunmaxx has inaugurated a highly automated factory on the site of an existing production facility in Ottendorf-Okrilla, near Dresden, Germany.

The German PVT module manufacturer said that the factory has an annual capacity of 50 MW, or 120,000 modules per year. It claimed that it is currently the world's largest PVT production facility. Sunmaxx aims to reach a capacity of 3 GW at an unspecified later stage.

The PVT modules from Sunmaxx are suitable for supplying electricity and heat to residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The manufacturer relies on thermal management technology from German automotive company Mahle, which it combines with photovoltaic technology.

Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) has certified that Sunmaxx's PVT PX-1 solar modules have an overall efficiency of 80%. They measure 1,750 mm x 1,140 mm x 38 mm and feature 108 PERC half-cells in the M10 format. The electrical output is 400 W, which corresponds to an electrical efficiency of about 20%.

The panels also have a thermal output of 1,200 W, which corresponds to a thermal collector efficiency EtaO of 60%. Fraunhofer ISE measured this value under maximum power point (MPP) conditions in full sunlight, at a module temperature of 25 C, and at a wind speed of 0 meters per second.