C OMPANY PROFILE High performance from

ErSol Solar Energy AG speeds to success.The solar cell and module manufacturer hopes to join the top ten of the global photovoltaic industry within a few years.

he German State of Thü- with an efficiency of 16%. With ringen [Thuringia] is at- these large-sized and high-effi- tracting attention. Over ciency solar cells, ErSol is able to T the last few years, the realize decisive cost advantages. cradle of German machinery The blue and black cells have and equipment making has be- made a name for themselves in come one of the main sites of a the industry for high and stable German leading-edge technol- energy yields.For this reason,de- ogy: . A major role mand is growing constantly,and in this development has been has exceeded production capac- played by ErSol Solar Energy AG, ity for some time. Numerous a producer of polycrystalline so- module manufacturers employ lar cells and modules. Founded the solar cells from Thüringen in Critical look:This specialist in 1997, by 2002 the company ErSol chairman of the board their products. is assessing the optical had become the second-largest Claus Beneking Photos (4): ErSol Besides this core business, quality of the face of the German solar-cell producer. At ErSol markets its own modules cell. its Erfurt site, the company manufactures crystalli- for grid-linked installations,and performs the plan- ne solar cells on two production lines with an an- ning of complete photovoltaic systems at home nual current total capacity of 10 MWp.And this year, and abroad. Its standard high-performance 72-cell ErSol will start enlarging this capacity to 25 MWp. modules are certified according to IEC 61215, and »ErSol is in the vanguard of a competitive industrial have rated outputs of up to 180 Wp.The ErSol cells structure«, says Claus Beneking, chairman of the and modules are sold to major customers in Europe board of ErSol Solar Energy AG.»We are working to and Asia. make solar cells ‘Made in ’ into an export What is the secret of this dynamic growth? Pro- item wanted throughout the world.« duction manager Irene Heinz lists several factors. ErSol had already achieved a technological lead »It is certainly the continuous quality management in 2000 with a stable efficiency of 14% in mass that enables us to achieve such an increase in effi- Non-stop quality:The production. This year, ErSol has been establishing ciency. Together with our company R&D depart- cells are classified automat- the state of the art with its production of six-inch ment, we are constantly optimizing production.« ically by output here. cells, and of the black-colored ‘Black Power’ cells But the qualifications and motivation of the staff also play an important role.In her development and production team, Irene Heinz relies on graduate engineers and trained mechatronics and micro- technology technicians. In addition to the com- pany’s in-house expertise, cooperation with inter- nationally leading research institutes ensures the basis for its know-how in photovoltaics.»For exam- ple,the calibrated power measurement of our cells by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) stands for maximum quality assurance,« Irene Heinz emphasizes. Chairman of the board Claus Beneking is con- vinced that ErSol will rise up into the Top Ten of the global photovoltaic industry within the next few years. »Thanks to our strong technological po- sition, the cost structure, and our strong market- ing concept, we will continue our above-average growth.« 4

Solar sunshade: A PV-installation – owned Further information: ErSol Solar Energy AG, Wilhelm-Wolff-Straße 25, 99099 Erfurt, Germany, by PV-Crystalox – decorates the south eastern phone: +49/361/653900, fax +49/361/6539033, facade of the ErSol engineering center. e-mail: [email protected],Web site: www.ersol.de

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Technological leap at Mar- bach: In a decommissioned power station, CIS mod- ules are now being pro- duced in a clean room by automated large-scale pro- duction. Photos (3): Würth Solar

Elegant pinstripes from the Neckar

The view from the windows of the turbine shed is of the gently flowing river Neckar. In the huge shed itself, monumental 1940s power-station technology can be admired. An industrial monument in Schiller’s home town of Marbach?

Würth Solar managing ar from it! Würth Solar GmbH & Co KG has set director Karl-Heinz Groß up one of the most modern photovoltaic pro- duction facilities in Europe on the grounds Fof a former generating station of the electric- ity utility EnBW.Two worlds meet here: the rugged power-plant technology of the early twentieth cen- tury on the one hand,and twenty-first century high- tech, the complex production of CIS solar cells, on Layer structure of a CIS module Graphic:Würth Solar the other. CIS (copper-indium-selenium) modules are the the start of large-scale production,« says Groß. »alternative« to the currently predominant technol- CIS solar modules are suitable for systems of all ogy of crystalline silicon cells.They have a photo-ac- sizes. No other module concept permits such indi- tive layer that is only a few micrometres thick.This vidual customization to the application as CIS mod- layer consists of an arrangement of copper,indium, ules. The coating method enables one to adjust and selenium precipitated onto a relatively inex- the properties of the CIS modules to the system re- pensive substrate (soda-lime sheet glass). quirements during manufacture. The application »The Würth group decided in 1998 to invest in determines the design and the electrical character- this technology,« says Würth Solar’s managing direc- istics of the module. Besides custom installations, tor, Karl-Heinz Groß. This matter-of-fact statement Würth Solar also produces standard modules with A view of the future:This conceals a considerable amount of courage:launch- ratings of 5 to 70 Wp. solar-power tower with ing into CIS technology on an industrial scale was For small systems,the CIS modules can be tailored 200 CIS modules adorns something of a sensation five years ago.Until then, to size.Würth modules are employed in garden and the training and technolo- CIS solar cells only existed in the laboratory of the camping lighting fixtures, automatic car-park ticket gy center of the Heilbronn »Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-For- machines, emergency call boxes, and drive controls Chamber of Crafts.Total schung (ZSW)« in , Germany, in sizes of for powered venetian blinds and roller shutters. capacity: 9.6 Wp 30 x 30 cm.»We had to scale that up to 60 x 120 cm for CIS modules display their special advantages in the pilot line«,Groß continues.»And then implement architecture.A homogeneous black »pinstripe« de- it in mass production.That was all new ground.« sign convinces architects and their clients.Here also, The decisive step was made in 2002. That year, an important advantage is the ability to manufacture 2,800 CIS thin-film modules left the solar-energy custom module sizes and individual designs. 4 factory in Marbach.Their average efficiency was sta- ble at 10%. This year, Groß expects an output of Further information: Würth Solar GmbH & Co. KG, Reinhold-Würth-Straße 4, 71672 ; Germany, 10,000 modules with a total capacity of 420 kWp. phone: +49/7144/94140; fax +49/7144/941419; »That will mean the end of pilot production, and e-mail: [email protected],Web site: www.wuerth-solar.de

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