Qcells to adopt Lumet’s metallisation technology for PV cells

Lumet, part of Israel’s Landa Group, said today that solar manufacturer Qcells, a unit of Seoul-based Hanwha Solutions Corp (KRX:009830), will be the first to deploy its fine-line metallisation technology for its photovoltaic (PV) solar cell lines.

Lumet explains metallisation as the process of screen-printing conductive silver fingers onto the cell’s surface and notes that the industry has long sought to reduce finger width to reduce silver usage, hence costs, and light shading, leading to increased efficiency. Lumet says it has achieved a finger width of 5 microns compared to 20 microns observed in the solar industry.

Danielle Merfeld, global chief technology officer at Qcells, said the company has decided to adopt Lumet metallisation technology after lengthy evaluation and testing.

“We see tremendous potential in the Lumet metallisation technology, which is a breakthrough on multiple fronts, setting records for finest lines, lowest cost, highest efficiency, highest speed and smallest footprint. Moreover, with Qcells’ commitment to expanding our USA-based manufacturing, the low CAPEX and high automation level of the Lumet systems are very attractive,” Merfeld added.

Qcells has a solar module factory in Georgia and is investing in building a US solar supply chain.

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