NEWS I ROUNDUP US solar companies focus on China
About 150 U.S. solar-industry employers of more than 11,000 American workers have joined the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) to support the U.S. government’s investigation of China’s solar trade practices and the restoration of fair, sustainable, international solar-industry competition.
The numbers include seven U.S. solar manufacturers that have joined to stop what CASM calls China’s state-sponsored solar industry from allegedly using export- oriented subsidies to dump exports into the U.S. market and harm American manufacturers and workers. Without a production cost advantage, China is deploying a staggering volume and array of subsidies to underwrite its production largely for export at dumped prices, according to CASM. The campaign has triggered trade petition drives to hold China accountable not just in the United
States but also in Australia and Europe. The U.S. coalition includes dozens of solar suppliers and installers from across the country, many of whom have issued impassioned pleas to preserve fair trade and U.S. jobs.
“We are gratified, but not surprised, to see this showing of support from such a broad cross-section of the American solar industry,” said Ben Santarris, U.S. head of corporate communications. “We know that support for domestic manufacturing is deep and pervasive. It’s great to see that it’s also resolute enough to stand up and be counted and heard.”
Mark Becker, president, Semper Fidelis Construction said “Free and fair trade is an American value. The current policies of the People’s Republic of China are not examples of free and fair trade. Devalued currency and government-propped
Organic solar cell record
HELIATEK GMBH has set a new world record for organic solar cells after Fraunhofer ISE CalLab certified a cell efficiency of 9.8 % for a 1.1 cm2 tandem cell manufactured with a low temperature deposition process. This new record makes the third time in a row that Heliatek has set a world record for efficiency in the field of organic photovoltaic and demonstrates its continuous technology leadership in organic solar.
One year ago, Heliatek GmbH set a world record for efficiency of 8.3 % for an active surface of 1.1 cm2
. Thanks to its most
recent developments, Heliatek has now been able to make a remarkable 1.5 % leap in cell efficiency, to 9.8 %. This new record was measured and certified by the independent Fraunhofer ISE CalLab (Freiburg, Germany) under standard test conditions.
Dr. Martin Pfeiffer, co-founder and CTO of Heliatek, explains: “Heliatek is the only solar company in the world focused on the deposition of small molecules with low temperature processes, a method that has already been widely adopted by the market for use with organic LEDs (OLEDs). Heliatek develops and
synthesizes in-house the molecules responsible for capturing light in solar cells and converting this light into electricity. The new world record is a clear indication that Heliatek is headed in the right direction. Organic solar cells from Heliatek have now reached the level of efficiency of conventional solar cells made from amorphous silicon.”
Heliatek has both its own chemistry research department as well as a physics research department. This unique combination creates efficient synergies, enabling simultaneous work on material quality and cell design. Heliatek was able to optimize the absorber layer system of the record-breaking cells through synthetizing the right materials. Furthermore, by improving the deposition process, cell morphology was significantly improved, leading to an increase in power output and in fill factor.
The record-breaking cell construction will gradually be integrated into Heliatek’s manufacturing process after the scheduled start of production in the second half of Heliatek’s in-house measurements have shown that scaling up the record-breaking cells to a panel with a size factor >120 results in an
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www.solar-pv-management.com I Issue X 2011
businesses that can sell their products at a loss are putting Americans out of work.”
Christopher Maingot of Superior Solar Systems said “Solar manufacturing in the U.S. needs support. Heavily subsidized Chinese imports are killing the American solar manufacturing industry.”
The next step in CASM’s trade case will be a Dec. 2 preliminary determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission on whether subsidized Chinese exports have injured the domestic industry. If it finds in favor of CASM, the first possible determination on “critical circumstances” could come as soon as Jan. 12, meaning importers of record could later be required to deposit estimated duties on imports back to this past Oct. 14. The Commerce Department initiated antidumping and duty investigations of the Chinese industry on Nov. 9.
efficiency over 9 % for the active module area.
Thibaud Le Séguillon, CEO of Heliatek, concludes: “I am delighted by this new result which confirms our technology leadership in this field. The next step on our way to 15 % will be a cell with over 10 % efficiency sometime next year. This latest record validates once again the decision taken at the outset by our investors and our team to commit ourselves to the production of organic solar based on small molecules using low temperature processes. Our flexible, thin and light panels open up new fields of applications that were so far impossible to address with conventional PV technologies. After our third investment round we plan to expand our production capacity with additional manufacturing lines. This will allow us to market our high-performance panels into new areas, such as windows and façades for BIPV. ”
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