Aurora Solar Technologies provides inline measurement and control technology for the PV manufacturing industry, and the West Vancouver, BC-based company says its solar cell manufacturing technology allows solar cell producers to increase cell power and yield.
“On average, 15-25 percent of [solar cell] production is downgraded and sold at or below cost,” says Michael Heaven, President and Founder, Aurora Solar Technologies. “Attaining ‘Grid Parity’ with fossil fuel energy sources is the solar industry’s most urgent and important challenge. Attaining profitability in a sector with very slim margins is the solar industry’s most urgent imperative.”
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When the founder of Aurora first saw his first cell production line, he was shocked to find no in-line measurement and control anywhere in the process. Raw wafers go in one end and cells come out the other and are graded into 40-60 power level bins. Adding in a quality control system, Heaven believes, would eliminate variability and produce only one power level of cells.
With Aurora’s technology, a typical cell production line can save between $0.5M and $2M in lost profits by eliminating low grade cells, immediately adding to the bottom line of panel manufacturers.
Aurora’s message is gaining steam as it recently received an order from LG Electronics for 12 Decima CDs and multiple Veritas Servers to boost production on several of the company’s lines in 2017.
— Solar Builder magazine
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