Solar energy is an essential building block for our future global sustainable energy system. Its potential is practically unlimited and it can be applied in sunbelt regions as well as in countries with less favourable conditions, including all of Europe. Within the family of solar energy technologies, photovoltaic conversion takes a special position because it is really versatile. It can be used from MW to GW scale, for consumer products and solar home systems for rural use up to building integrated systems and large-scale power plants.

The major barrier towards very large-scale use is the current cost of electricity generation with
photovoltaic. The heart of any photovoltaic system – the solar module – comes in different forms. The market is currently dominated by wafer-based crystalline-silicon technology, which has the highest performance of all (non-concentrating) technologies and still has large potential for cost reduction. CrystalClear aims to further increase the module efficiency and reduce the
manufacturing cost to EUR 1/W of module power.

Approach
The typical manufacturing cost breakdown of silicon solar modules at the project start is shown in the figure, with major cost components relating to silicon material, solar cell processing and module assembly. CrystalClear aims to cover the entire value chain from silicon feedstock up to
the completed solar module. Key topics are the use of low cost, ‘solar-grade’ silicon, very thin (0.1 mm) silicon wafers, high-efficiency (17-18 %) cells and novel approaches to interconnection of cells and encapsulation.

Results to date
The project has developed a set of technologies which potentially comply with the cost target. Wafer thickness has been successfully reduced from 0.2 mm to 0.1 mm, while efficiency is well on its way to the target values. A novel, integrated cell and module technology based on
rear-side contacting and conductive adhesives has been demonstrated. The consortium has undertaken crucial research on the (so far missing) specifications for solar grade silicon.

Future prospects
The consortium is confident that it can reach the overall project targets and demonstrate solar modules that can be produced at EUR 1/W. Using such modules it will be possible to build photovoltaic systems that can compete with electricity from the grid at retail level.

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