Since September 2008, Concentrix Solar has used its new fully automated production line to manufacture its concentrator PV modules. The facility is located in Freiburg, Germany and has an annual production capacity of 25 megawatts (MW). The building and the infrastructure are designed so that the production capacity can be quickly expanded up to 100 MW. In total, Concentrix Solar has a floor area of 4,000 square meters (approx. 43,000 sq ft) available for production and services.
At an official inaugural ceremony on December 12, 2008, Concentrix Solar opens its industrial production line to a group of invited guests for the first time. With its fully automated production, Concentrix Solar holds a top-level position among the producers of concentrator PV modules: “Constructing a fully automated production line with industrial throughput for concentrator modules is a milestone for us and also for the field of concentrator photovoltaics,” states Hansjörg Lerchenmüller, CEO of Concentrix Solar. “However, this is just the beginning and serves only as an entry into industrial production. Our goal is to grow with increasing speed in order to reach grid parity as soon as possible with our technology. With this first step, we are on the right path.”
Since October 2008, Concentrix Solar has produced a new generation of modules which are more cost efficient and once again have higher efficiencies than their predecessors. External measurements performed at Fraunhofer ISE confirm a new average module efficiency of 27.2 percent. In comparison, typical silicon modules only reach efficiencies between 13 and 14 percent. For its module production, Concentrix Solar uses affordable machines from the electronics, circuit board and the insulating glass industries. “With the start of production on an industrial scale, we have made the decisive step from a start-up company to a successful industrial concern,” says Karl Friedrich Haarburger, COO at Concentrix Solar who is responsible for setting up the new production line.
At present Concentrix Solar produces modules with a staff of 60 people. Next year this number is expected to increase to 100. In the course of the further expansion in the shift operation, the company plans to employ additional qualified personnel from the fields of electronics and electrical engineering. In addition, Concentrix Solar is recruiting technicians in power plant engineering as well as technicians and engineers in the field of development.
In order to make it possible for Concentrix Solar to set up its facilities permanently in Freiburg, the City of Freiburg supported Concentrix Solar in its search for a location and a suitable building. Concentrix Solar chose Freiburg for its production facility site because here the company can draw on an excellent network of local partners. The company has an especially close working relationship with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE for carrying out further developments on the FLATCON® technology.