ersol and Schott pursue micromorphous cells

Germany's ersol Thin Film Gmbh [ed.: lowercase correct] announced today it is working with Schott Solar, also based in Germany, to develop what the two companies call the "next generation of silicon-based thin-film technology": micromorphous thin-film solar cells.

Both companies currently offer amorphous solar cell modules, which are made of relatively unstructured crystalline silicon material. Schott produces ASI®-brand thin film modules while ersol has its Nova®-T series.

The agreement calls for developing micromorphous thin-film modules with thin layers of amorphous material and a microcrystralline film on top of each other. The combination is expected to be able to convert more sunlight into energy.

"We believe that this so-called micromorphous tandem cell can achieve up to 50% increase in module efficiency, and therefore also in the module yield in comparison to amorphous technology," said Christian Koitzsch, ersol Thin Film GmbH's managing director of technology.

Plants that can convert amorphous silicon material into microcrystalline cells already exist, ersol noted in a statement.

If the project succeeds, the resulting product could make ersol and Schott leaders in the new technology's European market, the companies claimed.

ersol, founded in 1997, produces monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon solar cells but is a relative newcomer to thin film, and only recently started shipping thin-film modules. It employs 126 people.

Willi Mannheims of the Executive Board of Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG said, "ersol Thin Film's concept for the further development of silicon-based thin-film technology is impressive and offers excellent perspectives for long-term market success."

Ventizz owns approximately half of ersol.

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