- News
3 November 2011
MiaSolé produces 50 millionth CIGS PV cell
MiaSolé of Santa Clara, CA, USA, which was founded in 2001 to make copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic panels, has produced its 50 millionth cell. The firm says that the milestone underscores the viability of its manufacturing process, which has enabled the production of low-cost, high-efficiency, flexible solar cells at volume scale.
“This commitment to reliability is reinforced by a growing number of globally bank-financed solar projects that are using MiaSolé technology,” says VP of marketing Rob DeLine.
Entering into an agreement in April with the Technical Manufacturing Services practice of Santa Clara-based Intel microprocessor maker (providing customized manufacturing services and systems, strategic consulting, operational knowledge and training) has further accelerated the firm’s production ramp, and improved the repeatability required for high-volume manufacturing, resulting in consistently higher output, yield and equipment utilization, claims MiaSolé. Its target was to triple annualized production capacity to more than 150MW by the end of 2011.
At the heart of MiaSole’s panel is a flexible cell architecture featuring fault-tolerant, low-resistance UltraWire technology, allowing the firm to move beyond traditional glass-glass products into the rolled-roofing and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) markets, which are unavailable to leading crystalline silicon manufacturers.