The production of German solar cells made by SolarWorld in Freiberg in Saxony celebrates its 10-year anniversary. The cells produced by the SolarWorld subsidiary Deutsche Cell GmbH would, if laid end to end, reach once around the globe. Since the inception of Deutsche Cell, the capacity of cell production in Freiberg has been increased by a factor of ten, the degree of efficiency of the cells has been continuously increased and the costs have been just as continuously reduced. In the last five years alone, the costs of solar cell production could be reduced by two thirds.
”The basis for this success is provided by highly qualified staff, economies of scale and a maximum of innovation. That is at the same time the recipe by which to stand up to worldwide competition at the production location of Germany,” explains Dr.-Ing. E. h. Frank Asbeck.
In the fully automatic plants of Deutsche Cell, poly-crystalline silicon wafers are upgraded to solar cells. After the surface cleaning and texturing, the already positively charged silicon is made electrically conductive by a layer of phosphorous. In the next steps, the front and rear sides are electrically separated and an anti-reflex layer as well as contacts to conduct the electrons are applied. Continuous batch tracking simultaneously guarantees an innovative edge and a high level of reliability. Finally, the solar cells are individually measured electrically on an individual and fully automatic basis and classified by performance and optical criteria.
”The use of the latest process plants with the highest degree of automation make possible a leading quality standard that is secured by permanent controls in all production steps as well as by continuous product tracking,” says Klaus Kubitz, Managing Director of Deutsche Cell GmbH.
Today, solar cells from Freiberg are employed all over the world even in St. Peter’s in the Vatican where they supply the Pope’s audience hall reliably with clean power.