R&D Project NextTec - Next Generation High Throughput Production Processes & Inline Characterization for Si Solar Cells

Within the NextTec project, a German consortium of equipment and metrology manufacturers as well as R&D institutes successfully developed the next generation of high-throughput processes and equipment for gigawatt-scale Si solar cell production. The project goal was the development of technical concepts (proof of concept) for the realization of an increase in throughput by a factor of 2 to 3 compared to currently used industrial production technology, ideally with an equivalent equipment footprint and only moderately increased equipment costs. Consequently, system throughputs of up 15,000-20,000 wafers per hour are addressed. Based on these values, a production capacity of approximately 1 GW per system and year can be achieved.