The Inventux Technologies AG launched Europe's first time ever full-scale production for micromorph thin-film modules today and has broken new territory in the energy sector. In a joint, symbolic act the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, and the Executive Board of Inventux Technologies AG took the first micromorph photovoltaic module from the assembly line. The innovative Inventux modules are of particular interest due to their efficiency. Concurrently the company requires significantly smaller volumes of solar-grade silicon.
The 250 invited guests for the ceremonial opening included representatives from politics and industry, investors and project partners, and managers from the Swiss high-tech supplier Oerlikon Solar.
The Chairman of the Board of Inventux Technologies AG, Volko Löwenstein, commented in his address on the excellent way that all companies and partners had worked together on the project: "In less than a year we have managed to transform an empty factory into a high-tech production location. And in less than seven months we, Oerlikon and all our equipment suppliers and partners have succeeded in starting the first European full-scale production run of silicon-based micromorph photovoltaic modules." It is remarkable that Inventux specialists were able to considerably raise the module performance above today's market standard during the ramp-up phase. "On the road towards grid-parity with conventional energy sources the high-tech company Inventux has advanced the state of development of the solar energy sector significantly", Löwenstein underlined.
Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit commented: "Thanks to Inventux Technologies AG and its thin-film module production, Berlin is coming to be known beyond the borders of the region for its expertise in the area of energy." The company that employed a mere ten people when it moved to Berlin in the autumn of last year was now, "with the 120 jobs that it has since created, without a doubt one of the fastest growing companies in the region and in the solar energy sector as a whole." Wowereit is optimistic: "Inventux has the potential to become a symbol for the successful reindustrialization of Berlin. Just now, with an economic crisis at hand, it is right to focus on future technologies."
The importance of this consistent focus on high-tech companies that bring pioneer technology to the point where it can be launched on the market was underlined by Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. At a press conference she declared the strategic partner Inventux to be a lighthouse project in thin-film silicon PV technology: "In the past months, experts from both companies joined efforts and worked in true partnership to bring the facility into production. During that time Inventux has demonstrated to be a leading new player in the high-end PV module market", said Sargent.
With Oerlikon Solar's new micromorph technology, Inventux will be in a position to increase efficiency to more than 10 percent and make solar energy competitive with traditional energy sources in the near future. Up till now the technologies used by Inventux have been applied to the production of flat-screen equipment or in the automotive sector. The technologies have been developed further to enable the industrial-scale manufacture of technologically superior solar modules. The key component combines two different forms of silicon - amorphous and microcrystalline - in an upper and lower cell. The upper, amorphous cell transmutes the visible part of the light spectrum, while the lower, microcrystalline cell absorbs the energy of sunlight in the infrared area. This new micromorph technology means considerable improvements in efficiency compared with traditional amorphous cells.
The 250 invited guests for the ceremonial opening included representatives from politics and industry, investors and project partners, and managers from the Swiss high-tech supplier Oerlikon Solar.
The Chairman of the Board of Inventux Technologies AG, Volko Löwenstein, commented in his address on the excellent way that all companies and partners had worked together on the project: "In less than a year we have managed to transform an empty factory into a high-tech production location. And in less than seven months we, Oerlikon and all our equipment suppliers and partners have succeeded in starting the first European full-scale production run of silicon-based micromorph photovoltaic modules." It is remarkable that Inventux specialists were able to considerably raise the module performance above today's market standard during the ramp-up phase. "On the road towards grid-parity with conventional energy sources the high-tech company Inventux has advanced the state of development of the solar energy sector significantly", Löwenstein underlined.
Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit commented: "Thanks to Inventux Technologies AG and its thin-film module production, Berlin is coming to be known beyond the borders of the region for its expertise in the area of energy." The company that employed a mere ten people when it moved to Berlin in the autumn of last year was now, "with the 120 jobs that it has since created, without a doubt one of the fastest growing companies in the region and in the solar energy sector as a whole." Wowereit is optimistic: "Inventux has the potential to become a symbol for the successful reindustrialization of Berlin. Just now, with an economic crisis at hand, it is right to focus on future technologies."
The importance of this consistent focus on high-tech companies that bring pioneer technology to the point where it can be launched on the market was underlined by Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. At a press conference she declared the strategic partner Inventux to be a lighthouse project in thin-film silicon PV technology: "In the past months, experts from both companies joined efforts and worked in true partnership to bring the facility into production. During that time Inventux has demonstrated to be a leading new player in the high-end PV module market", said Sargent.
With Oerlikon Solar's new micromorph technology, Inventux will be in a position to increase efficiency to more than 10 percent and make solar energy competitive with traditional energy sources in the near future. Up till now the technologies used by Inventux have been applied to the production of flat-screen equipment or in the automotive sector. The technologies have been developed further to enable the industrial-scale manufacture of technologically superior solar modules. The key component combines two different forms of silicon - amorphous and microcrystalline - in an upper and lower cell. The upper, amorphous cell transmutes the visible part of the light spectrum, while the lower, microcrystalline cell absorbs the energy of sunlight in the infrared area. This new micromorph technology means considerable improvements in efficiency compared with traditional amorphous cells.
