If there were a World Cup event for the solar industry J.v.G. Thoma GmbH would have secured their position among the winners, because this specialist in the development and marketing of production equipment is the innovation engine for the entire industry.
The latest development from Thoma, an almost revolutionary high-performance module, is breaking several records at the same time. For one thing, it is extremely heat resistant and very appropriate for deployment in desert regions, since it can handle temperatures up to 125°C. For another, it has three times the life span in comparison with equivalent modules.
The module is PID-free, which is extremely important for solar plants, because the Potentially Induced Degradation (PID) is one of the primary causes of performance losses in solar plants over the life their operations. This new, high-performance module was developed in close cooperation with the Bavarian solar provider, Jurawatt. A number of patents have already been registered for the new technology.
The development was made possible by a completely new lamination process. J.v.G. Thoma will offer this technology as a process to all customers who want to invest in manufacturing equipment and thereby open up attractive opportunities for themselves on the market.
Jurawatt GmbH, located in Neumarkt, will make the "desert-capable" high-performance module into a production series from January 2012. Production of the module will start almost simultaneously in Korea upon completion of the new Jurasolar plants in February 2012. The module has been subjected to the strictest testing in accordance with the IEC and DIN standards. Among other tests, this includes testing UV behavior, temperature cycling, humidity-freezing behavior and steam-heat testing, which has been conducted for over 3,000 hours. Overall, the module received the best grades.
The values were confirmed both by TÜV Germany (technical inspection association) as well as the Institut National de lÉnergie Solaire (INES, national institute of solar energy).
