Avancis Presents World’s Number One Monolithic Thin-Film Module Achieving 15.5 Percent

Avancis, a leading manufacturer of CIS solar modules, starts the new year with an improvement in efficiency. The company has achieved a world record of 15.5% on a monolithic solar module measuring 30 x 30 cm², and has had this verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of Colorado.

Avancis has thus succeeded in improving its last record efficiency rate of 15.1%, set in 2010, and continues to top the leader board for monolithic thin-film modules.

“The increase in efficiency was achieved by using a zinc oxide front electrode with higher conductivity. We also improved the structuring process, thereby enlarging the active area of the module. This enabled us to optimize the width of the individual cells once more, allowing us to increase efficiency as a result,” said Dr. Franz Karg, CTO of Avancis, explaining how the company achieved its most recent success.

So that the findings of the research department can be implemented in industrial applications as quickly as possible, the engineering department works exclusively with processes and materials that are actually in use in series production. Avancis plans to implement many of the improved processes in the new factories it is currently building. The company is in the process of building a second factory at its headquarters in Torgau and is getting ready to set up a third production facility in South Korea. Both factories will work at output rates of 100 MWp/a.

Efficiencies are also evident in series production: the CIS modules in the Avancis PowerMax range are already delivering 12% efficiency in the 130 W class today.