Mar 9 2009
Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR), a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules worldwide, today announced that it is making available a new simple development engineering platform for universities, companies, government laboratories and corporate research and development organizations to develop and evaluate their new materials and designs for photovoltaic modules.
This development engineering platform has all of the necessary pieces of equipment to make world-class PV modules. The platform includes a Spi-StringerTM that solders solar cells together into strings; a Spi-LaminatorTM for encapsulating the cells, usually between glass and a polymer; a Spi-Sun SimulatorTM to characterize performance of the completed module and a recommended list of ancillary equipment.
Also included is training on all of the equipment and the process knowledge to make a state-of-the-art module. The development engineering platform includes a list of recommended materials, a basic crystalline module design and a “How to Make a PV Module” instruction book as a starting point for researchers to work from and for evaluating their own technology.
“This development engineering platform will allow for a broad range of researchers and organizations to become involved in solar energy for a modest investment,” said Roger Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation. “The availability of this development platform is intended to accelerate the introduction of new PV module technology into the industry. It is also intended to provide students with access to real world equipment and processes which may lead them into a career in solar energy.”