Bystronic glass at SNEC PV POWER EXPO 2012

The photovoltaic’tpa is first machine of this type that is capable of working in 24-hour operation without any interruption. Two high-performance pumps ensure that the viscous sealing material is always available. Whereas the use of the conventional butyl sealant stripes from a reel is permanently linked with production interruptions when the material needs to be changed. The dosing pumps of the photovoltaic’tpa apply the material accurately to a tenth of a millimetre. Depending on the film thickness, the application thickness of the butyl varies between 0.5 to 1 millimetres – with the most precise application.

Halving the cost in the module production with TPedge
Furthermore Bystronic glass shows the TPedge module at EU PVSEC, a wafer based solar module which can be produced significantly faster and cheaper than standard wafer modules. The savings in time and costs are due to a simplified module structure and a completely new production technology. The solar cells are conventionally linked together and then fixed between two glass panes. The films and the corresponding lamination can therefore be completely eliminated. The edge sealing of the TPedge module is done by the application of a thermoplastic material (TPS®) at 130 °C so an additional aluminium frame is not necessary.

Bystronic glass has developed the technology for the TPedge production in cooperation with Fraunhofer-Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). The TPedge module production ranges can be designed with various expansion stages. In the serial production line, it is possible to manufacture a module in under a minute – compared to the usual standard procedure of 16 minutes. The new production principle is aligned to the seal technology used in the insulating glass production technology. The development of the so-called TPedge process, used in the production of modules with a thermoplastic sealing at the edge of the glass, features a major innovation leap in the entire module production.