Fraunhofer ISE Starts NexWafe GmbH, a New Spin-Off Company

@font-face { font-family: “ＭＳ 明朝”; }@font-face { font-family: “ＭＳ 明朝”; }@font-face { font-family: “BemboStd”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }p.BodyCopyNOINDENT, li.BodyCopyNOINDENT, div.BodyCopyNOINDENT { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 12pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: BemboStd; color: black; }p.BodyCopy, li.BodyCopy, div.BodyCopy { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 12pt; line-height: 120%; font-size: 10pt; font-family: BemboStd; color: black; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; } The global market for photovoltaics (PV) is expected to grow by 25% in 2015, with similar increases in the years to follow. The price for PV modules has come down drastically, but there there is still potential for further reduction in the value chain.

However, the industry needs disruptive approaches to increase the module efficiency and to reduce the material and energy consumption in production. In this context, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE announces the start of NexWafe, a new spin off company. NexWafe will transfer Fraunhofer ISE’s kerfless wafer technology into production.

Stefan Reber, founder and CEO of NexWafe, is formerly head of the Department Crystalline Silicon – Materials and Thin Film Solar Cells at Fraunhofer ISE. The start-up is being supported by seed funding from Fraunhofer Venture.

NexWafe’s products will serve the multi-billion dollar high-end wafer market with its disruptive kerfless wafer technology. Being based on epitaxy, the kerfless wafer, which has been developed throughout the last 15 years, is a drop-in replacement for conventional wafers produced by a single-crystal ingot and wire sawing process. NexWafe’s kerfless wafers enable significant cost reduction in solar cell production.

Reber and his team at Fraunhofer ISE have developed a reliable epitaxial deposition process for crystalline silicon layers, which is transferable to the photovoltaic industry. The process focus is on atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) at temperatures up to 1300°C. This process is well-known from microelectronics, but had to be radically adapted for photovoltaic applications in terms of throughput of the equipment.

Reber and his team of 30 people have developed different generations of deposition reactors, ranging from very flexible batch-type laboratory setups to large multi-chamber in-line systems with the option of continuously depositing p- and n-doped epitaxial layers. The latest development, a reactor named ProConCVD, has been designed for high throughput as required in industrial production, demonstrating low-cost high-quality silicon epitaxy for PV.

“For me it is a unique and exciting moment to transfer the results of our extensive work into business and help to leverage this exciting technology,” Reber said.

“I’m convinced that with this excellent founding team, NexWafe will contribute a big share to further decrease the cost of silicon photovoltaics substantially,” added Eicke Weber, Fraunhofer ISE director.