PV Taiwan 2011 Taiwan International Photovoltaic Forum & Exhibition was held at Taipei World Trade Center from October 5th to 7th. According to EnergyTrend, the numbers of participating companies hit a record high of 286 (806 booths) with a 29% growth. Major solar companies such as Motech, Gintech, and Neo Solar Power and polysilicon suppliers GCL and OCI gathered together and showcased their latest R&D achievements, introducing the participants to the unlimited prospects of the solar industry.
For the first time, PV Cells/ Modules/ Systems Pavilion, DSSC Pavilion and HCPV Pavilion were dedicatedly included in PV Taiwan 2011. With events including New Products & Solutions Outlook and Academic Poster Section, the exhibition adequately presented the strength of Taiwanese PV industry. In the meantime, over 20 experts of the global major solar companies and research institutes, including Motech, Neo Solar Power, Taiwan Polysilicon Corp., CL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited, DelSolar, DuPont, Ferro, OCI, Oerlikon, PASAN and Sanyo, were invited to dissect the market dynamics, industry positioning, and technology innovations at the PV Taiwan 2011 Forum, lighting up a path to a promising future for the solar and PV industry.
As opposed to the solar and PV market’s rapid growth of 153% in 2010, affected by the subsidy policy changes of major solar markets such as Germany and Italy in 1H11, the global solar market’s has been showing declining momentum. However, as the core of solar cell manufactures has shifted to Asia, Taiwan and China’s solar cell capacities will take up 80% of the global capacity. Due to their supreme quality and affordable prices, the solar batteries manufactured by Taiwanese companies are hugely acclaimed worldwide. Also, PV Taiwan has become an important platform for global power companies and modules makers to purchase solar batteries.
Before the commencement of PV Taiwan 2011, the organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) stated that the exhibition will host renowned companies and visitors from over 70 countries, including MEMC from the United States, Phoenix Solar, Inventux Solar, Abakus Solar from Germany and Solerine Energie from France as well as buyers from emerging countries such as Energy Absolute Public Company from Thailand, Apex Power Concepts from the United Arab Republic, Energypac Power Generation from Bangladesh, and Arikanli Holding from Turkey. In order to help domestic and international participants purchase products and search for cooperative opportunities, the exhibition arranged 173 one-on-one purchase consulting sessions, in the hope of bringing Taiwan’s high-quality solar products to the world stage.
Five New Pavilions and Launches of New Products and Solutions Shed Light on the Latest Technologies and Solutions
PV Cells/ Modules/ Systems Pavilion: Domestic and Global Major Solar Cell Makers
PV Taiwan 2011 hosted PV Cells/ Modules/ Systems Pavilion for the first time, comprising companies from over 80 countries which showcased the latest products and technologies. According to EnergyTrend’s observation, in response to the market preference, most of the participating cell makers put focus on high-efficiency mono-crystalline products. For example, Neo Solar Power’s solar cell Perfect 19, with a conversion efficiency exceeding 19%, made its debut at PV Taiwan 2011. In addition, Gintech and Big Sun Energy Technology Incorporation also exhibited their high-efficiency mono-crystalline cells. As for modules, the manufacturers launched assorted solutions catering to different markets’ needs, such as Ritek’s light-weight module and Topper Sun Energy Technology Corp.’s high-efficiency module custom-made for the Japanese market. In regards to Taiwanese system makers, Topper Sun is focusing on the domestic system market, while Win Win Precision Technology has been making progress in Germany. As for Powercom Corp., it put emphasis on power solutions with higher system efficiency, which was able to reach 94.56%. To sum up, Taiwanese PV manufacturers, in response to the heating competition, launched assorted solutions tailored for respective markets and applications.
POWERCOME Displaying High Power Output Measured by Government
Gintech Displaying High Efficiency Mono Cells
DSSC Pavilion Illuminated the Latest Development and Prospects of DSSC
The strength of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) lies in its simple manufacturing process and low cost, which not only makes it one of the most popular research areas, but also is why a lot of domestic and international manufacturers have set foot in the DSSC industry. Japan’s Fuji Chimera Research Institute estimated that as of 2014, the market demand for DSSC will hit 235MW and the production value will amount to US% 200 million. For the first time, PV Taiwan hosted DSSC Pavilion, composed of Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI), Eternal Chemical, Everlight Chemical, Taiwan DSC PV Corp., King Design Industrial Corp., and FHR ANLAGENBAU GMBH, presenting to the visitors the exciting development and applications DSSC had to offer.
PV Taiwan 2011 arranged a pavilion solely dedicated to DSSC, encompassing various technologies, materials, applications and products and providing a clear idea of Taiwanese DSSC industry’s achievement. Due to its simple manufacturing process, low cost, low light intensity and compatibility with multiple environments, DSSC has been considered one of the most promising products in the PV industry. In terms of efficiency, ITRI has developed a DSSC incorporated with a 11x11 cm2 glass substrate and another with a flexible substrate, whose conversion efficiencies reaching 8% and 5% respectively. As opposed to the limited sources of silicone materials in Taiwan, Taiwanese companies including Eternal Chemical and Jintex Corporation have the ability to supply module makers with intermediate materials. Jintex is engaged in commercializing DSSC-related applications in consumer-oriented products, including solar charger bag, toys and bicycles.
DSSC Pavilion
DSSC Technology Application in Consumer Products
DSSC Technology Application in Consumer Products
HCPV Pavilion Covered the Latest Technologies and Trends of HCPV Market
In spite of the heated interest in the highly competitive market of silicon-based solar, HCPV solar manufacturers demonstrated their increased maturity at the exhibition. According to EnergyTrend’s observation, the products that were exhibited covered the entire industrial chain. Everphoton showcased its module system with the world’s highest conversion efficiency of 32.02%, which has been adopted in the United Arab Emirates’ Masdar City Project in Abu Dhabi; TaiCrystal is the only germanium ingot and wafer supplier in Asia, and it is on joint efforts with many world’s leading manufacturers. As for sun tracking systems, Green Source provided customized single axis and dual axis trackers. In addition to the high conversion efficiency of HCPV and the wide establishment of large power plants around the globe, the manufacturing cost of HCPV has been decreasing. American manufacturers predicted that the market value of HCPV will turn out 60MW in 2011; some even estimated that the market value will surge to 2GW by 2015. For this reason, HCPV will play an integral role in the PV industry in the future.
TaiChrystal Displaying Solar Module for CPV
Everphoton Displaying Tracking Systems for CPV
Academic Poster Section – The Best Platform for the Exchanges between Industrial, Academic, Research Circles
Taiwanese Universities contributed to most of the academic papers publicized at the exhibition, tackling the practical experiences and DSSC-related issues including flexible DSSC and the enhancement of conversion efficiency. Such a focus is a testament to the market spotlight is shining not only on silicon-base products but also other applications. Moreover, in a nod to the industry’s needs for efficiency enhancement and cost reduction, the event presented a number of R&D breakthroughs involving manufacturing process improvement and material reduction, which will make the products more competitive in the market. From the perspective of Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Taiwanese manufacturer Advanced Energy included the system inverter as one of its research topics, making the academic researches more accessible for practical applications. In order to spur the cooperation between industrial, academic and research circles and stimulate technology innovations, the event invited elites of National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University, National Chung Hsing University, FS-Technology and Advanced Energy to present their relevant papers.
Academic Poster Sect
Application Products Area Focused on Low-Carbon, Pollution-Free Green Life
PV Taiwan 2011 arranged a new area dedicated to new applications and products, showcasing the convenience and practicality of solar products. The products included solar lawn mower, solar house which incorporated solar modules. The focus was on building applications, such as transparent photovoltaic modules with heat insulation and higher efficiency and colored thin film solar cells. Although the products were mostly manufactured by Taiwanese academic institutes, but the great promise of monochrome and colored thin film solar cells have attracted eye of several companies. Taiwanese companies including NexPower and BeyondPV have revealed their interest in developing building module, but limited by its high cost and low conversion efficiency, it is still not ready for commercialization. However, as the solar technologies evolve, solar applications will find their ways into more products and become a part of the life.
Colored Thin Film Solar Cell
Sunner Solar Displaying Applications of Thin Film Solar Technology (Right: Vice President, Dr. Frank O'Young)
New Products and Solutions Outlook Shed Light on the Latest Development of DSSC, Material and Measuring Technology
At the New Products and Solutions Outlook, it covered DSSC’s development and commercialization, the latest solar material applications, and measuring technology. The participating companies including ITRI, Zero Energy Building Technology Alliance (ZEBTA), Everlight Chemical, Eternal Chemical, FS-Technology, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Advnaced Technology, PRECISION International, JD Auspice, BTU, TA Instruments and Ultralife, giving the visitors a firm grasp of assorted high-quality solutions.