Upstream production stages remain in the background

摘要

In their efforts to exploit the potential for cost reductions in photovoltaics, the industry players are concentrating first and foremost on raising the efficiency of the cells. It is true that optimisation of the manufacturing process, with the aim of reducing materials consumption and increasing output, has its place on the agenda, as does also research into new cell architectures - but progress in these fields is much more difficult to sell. By contrast, the end users readily welcome proclamations of higher cell, and thus similarly higher module efficiency.