Solar Power » Industry

Value Chain Activity: Concentrating PV Modules

CPV module manufacturers assemble the solar cells, concentrator unit and heat sink to form a module. Where applicable, companies will either integrate a tracking device or offer it as a separate product for free-standing module installations.

Industry Context

Barriers to entry


Barriers are reasonably low due to the fact that most materials and manufacturing processes are pretty standard provided the cells are manufactured elsewhere.


 

Suppliers

Depending on the degree of concentration, the solar cell is either silicon-based or a multi-junction cell. If it is the latter, the cell will most likely be supplied by one of only 3 players.


 

Conclusion

At a time when poly-silicon was very expensive, concentrating solar pv promised to be a cost-effective alternative. No more. Concerning application of the technology, it appears to be wedged in between concentrated solar thermal and flat photovolatics, which could prove to be an uncomfortable position. For now it remains a niche market.

Competition

As a rather recent technology being commercialized, there were many new entrants with no dominant technical design. Many of those, however, failed, as the rapid collapse of costs in conventional modules negated many a business case of cpv manufacturers.

PV Cell
   

 

 

 

Substitutes

The main value proposition of cpv modules is lower cost of ownership than other photovoltaic technologies in clear and sunny locations. The drop in silicon prices has massively challenged this presumption.

Company Details


Name Country Comments
Zytech Solar China Zytech offer a medium concentration (120x) photovoltaic module.
Spectrolab United States A Boeing company from space research. In terrestrial: pectrolab offers a variety of concentrator solar cells with efficiencies up to 40% at concentration.
AzurSpace Germany CPV products offered by Azure Space are highly customizable. The pv-material is a triple-junction solar cell. Azure offers arrays with cooling elements and concentrators.

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