Calyxo on its way to cost competitive electricity from the sun
Calyxo GmbH of Bitterfeld / Wolfen-Thalheim confirms, with its innovative thin-film module, the tremendous performance potential of photovoltaic modules based on cadmium telluride technology. The Calyxo record module has an output of 88.7 watts at an efficiency of 13.4 percent measured on aperture area. Based on these results, owner Solar Fields, LLC, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. has decided to fund the company for the next years.
The testing body SGS Germany has officially confirmed the record numbers. With the production of the Calyxo record module, the development stages of the next generation have are already underway. This shows the potential of the Calyxo CdTe thin-film technology for the future. Calyxo“s standard module is 60*120 cm but Calyxo“s patented atmospheric continuous manufacturing process can produce modules as wide as 120 cm by any length desired, bringing more flexibility and lower costs to the solar industry.
In addition to the development of the highly efficient Calyxo record module, the CdTe specialists from Saxony-Anhalt and Calyxo USA, Perrysburg, Ohio have been able to further increase the efficiency of the currently produced CX3-series module to an average of 11.9 percent based on aperture area.
„The Calyxo development team rapidly reached another milestone on its efficiency roadmap aiming for even higher efficiencies in the near future. High module efficiencies in combination with our low cost atmospheric deposition technology are decisive factors for cost competitive solar energy“, said Michael Bauer, Calyxo“s Chief Technology Officer.
Calyxo GmbH currently operates a 25 MWp production line with over 150 employees at the manufacturing plant that has been in commercial production since 2009 in Bitterfeld / Wolfen-Thalheim, also known as Solar Valley in Saxony-Anhalt. Additional capital for the next years will be provided by the technology inventor Solar Fields, LLC, who took over total ownership of Calyxo GmbH in February 2011 from their former partner Q-Cells SE.
„With the financial contribution of our long-term shareholder Solar Fields, we will reduce our costs by the end of this year to less than 0.60 EUR per Wp, which corresponds to a cost reduction of nearly 30 percent from the recent level,“ states the managing director Florian Holzapfel, Calyxo (CEO), in defining the objectives for the future.
Calyxo GmbH – Independent since 2011 and on the road to expansion!
Calyxo GmbH, founded in 2005, produces thin-film solar modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology. After the company split from Q-Cells in February of 2011, the former technology provider Solar Fields took over Calyxo GmbH and invested in a second production line with a capacity of approx. 120 MWp, which will commence production in 2012. Calyxo GmbH currently manufactures a module volume representing an annual power generation capacity of 25 MWp at their production facilities Bitterfeld/Wolfen-Thalheim, in the so-called „Solar Valley“ in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. All Calyxo modules are thus „Made and Developed in Germany“.
Research and rapid further development of the Calyxo CdTe is constantly being driven ahead, in collaboration with the American parent company Calyxo USA Inc. The CdTe technology has an enormous potential to reduce the costs of solar power generation. Thin-film solar cells are economic to manufacture and can convert solar energy to electricity under the most unfavourable weather conditions. The modules still operate efficiently on roofs that are not directly aligned to the south.
The production process used for Calyxo CdTe thin-film modules also helps to reduce environmental contamination. The cadmium used for the CdTe modules is a waste product from the mining industry that must otherwise be expensively stored to prevent environmental damage. The CdTe technology refines the cadmium and tellurium to a water-insoluble semiconductor to form the basis of the Calyxo thin-film module. The cadmium telluride is then safely bonded between two glass plates to provide a reliable source of solar power for decades. The CdTe modules also offer an unmatched energy payback time of about 1.5 years. The energy payback time is the time required for a product to generate the same amount of energy that was used for its manufacture.
Kontakt:
Calyxo GmbH
Christoph Mühlenbeck
OT Thalheim / Sonnenallee 1a
06766 Bitterfeld-Wolfen
+49 (0)3494 3689 80-101
www.calyxo.com
calyxo@calyxo.com
Pressekontakt:
Kontaktwerk
Jürgen Koch
Schloßstr. 17a
96253 Untersiemau
j.koch@kontaktwerk.com
09565616235
http://www.kontaktwerk.com
