Joint project: Voyager-PV – Fully integrated and system-optimized electronic solutions in the solar module

Subproject: Production techniques for electronics on solar modules

The Voyager-PV project aims to reduce the costs for module-integrated electronics in order to enable a very simple and cost-effective construction of PV systems, especially in building-integrated applications with small differently oriented surfaces. The costs of module-integrated electronics can be significantly reduced by simplifying the mounting of the module electronics on the PV module.

Encapsulation techniques, which are used cost-effectively in the automotive sector, for example, to protect electronic components from environmental influences, can significantly simplify PV module production with electronics. Housing, cable strain relief, adhesive layers and possibly cables between junction box and electronics are then no longer necessary and can contribute to cost reduction. The new materials must be compatible with conventional PV module materials used by the market and the relevant PV module standards. The higher the degree of integration, the more important it is not only to comply with the module standards, but also to be able to continue to use familiar characterization methods, especially production-relevant power and electroluminescence measurements on the PV module. We see the chance to solve current challenges in the thermal design of high performance PV modules (=360 Wp) with integrated module electronics. These are in particular the overheating of individual solar cells when a single solar cell is shaded and the overheating of bypass diodes in bifacial PV module variants. If a power converter stage is mounted directly on the module, it can be equipped with additional sensors without significant cost increases in order to be able to offer further applications. First and foremost, the reliability of the PV electronics system must be evaluated. Therefore, in this project, particularly simple sensor equipment is to be developed with regard to its added value and analysis techniques are to be evaluated.