Dutch research institute Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) recently demonstrated to the public in Eindhoven, Netherlands, its highly automated research line for customized, flexible, lightweight solar PV laminates, made to provide its partners with semi-finished products for integrated PV (IPV) applications.
The mass customization line was developed to combine bespoke PV semi-finished products with a mass production volume to decrease costs. “By investing in this mass customization research line and supporting a flexible bill of materials, we can strengthen our ecosystem partners' ability to develop new integrated PV products based on low-carbon solar laminates,” Roland Valckenborg, Senior Project Manager at TNO Solar told pv magazine.
The line supports both copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) and crystalline silicon solar cells, including back-contact (BC) designs. There are plans to add perovskite solar PV device support in the future.
The semi-finished product dimensions are configurable, with widths ranging from 10 cm up to 70 cm and a length of up to 25 m. The bill of materials is also flexible, with a selection of components on offer.
The output is then incorporated into products made by construction, installation, and building material companies. Their typical products would be glass-free façade tiles, non-standard solar roof modules, or insulated PV windows, solar fences, or venetian blinds. Other IPV applications include noise barriers along roadways, agrivoltaics, and vehicle-integrated PV (VIPV) systems.
The TNO Solar group is also leading a Horizon Europe project that started in 2023 and runs until 2026, named Mass Customisation 2.0 (MC2.0), which uses the research line with a large number of companies and research partners from across Europe.
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