pv magazine Webinar | Back-Contact’s Move to the Front

Initiative partner: DSM Advanced Solar

Back-contact technologies – metal wrap through (MWT) and interdigitated back contact (IBC) modules – promise high energy yields per square meter and are already making a significant impact in markets for residential rooftop and small commercial PV. In this pv magazine Webinar, we partner with leading materials company DSM for a closer look at how these technologies differ from conventional module designs, and the technology roadmap that could lead to bigger market impacts over the coming years.

At the sharp end of cell and module efficiency, a number of different technologies promise the highest energy output over the smallest area. And not least among these are the back-contact technologies, metal wrap through and interdigitated back contact.
For the rooftop segment in particular, where these technologies offer the added benefit of more aesthetically pleasing designs compared to standard modules, MWT and IBC have already begun to gain market share.

In this pv magazine Webinar, we will take a closer look at back-contact technologies and their position in the market for high-end modules. On the technology side, the program will explain the inner workings of back contact modules and how these differ from conventional PV products.

We’ll hear from Hugo Schoot, Director Strategic Partnerships DSM Advanced Solar about the market development of high-efficiency modules, the commercial benefits of back contact modules, and the essential contribution that DSM’s conductive backsheet makes toward achieving these.

Next, we will bring in even more commercial experience with a presentation from Paolo Maccario, President and CEO of Silfab Solar. Silfab produces metal wrap through modules incorporating DSM’S conductive backsheet at its manufacturing base in the U.S. Both its conventional and back-contact modules have achieved ‘Top Performer’ status in PV Evolution Labs’ module scorecard. Maccario will share some insights from Silfab’s two years of experience running large-scale back contact production, as well as details of the technology’s future roadmap. He will also present a use case comparing the performance of MWT-modules with standard modules.

And we will also hear from Radovan Kopecek, CTO and co-founder of solar research institute ISC Konstanz. Kopecek and his team developed the ‘ZEBRA’ IBC cell concept, and he will share some of its advantages with the webinar audience, as well as plans for the next generation of ZEBRA, which is set to drive back contact technology’s production costs even lower, making it competitive in even more markets.

pv magazine Webinar content:
• Overview of back-contact technologies & current and future market landscape
• Workings and components of a back-contact module, including DSM’s conductive backsheet
• Technical and commercial advantages
• Insights & lessons from large scale commercial production
• Preview of ‘next generation’ back contact technologies

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Mark Hutchins will be the moderator of this pv magazine Webinar. We look forward to your participation!

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This webinar was recorded on 24 September 2020.