CORNING has announced the successful commercialisation of its photovoltaic glass substrates after three years of development work.
The glass manufacturer says it is now shipping out its first commercial order for its PV glass substrates. It has engineered a glass which enables higher efficiency and lighter weight thin-film photovoltaic modules.
According to Corning, it studied and understood the current market challenges for photovoltaics and the focus on delivering cost-effective solar energy solutions, and decided to create a glass solution which addresses energy conversion efficiency.
Corning’s glass technology has been proven to have a substantial efficiency improvement in both lab and customer trials. It is said to increase current thin-film module efficiency by 20 percent to 30 percent.
The glass has high transmission, allowing more sunlight into the semiconductor layer. Corning's substrates are also high-temperature tolerant. Because the glass can withstand higher temperature deposition, more uniform semiconductor films may be applied, which increases overall conversion efficiency.