‘Solar leaders’ to develop US CIGS roadmap

27 Jun 2012

Aim is to accelerate the deployment of copper indium gallium selenide manufacturing; to play critical role in building competitive US photovoltaic sector.

The US Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC), an industry-led collaboration headquartered at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, NY, designed to accelerate next-generation PV technologies, has selected a trio of solar industry experts to develop the first ever US CIGS PV “roadmap”.

Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, Chair of PVMC and Senior VP and CEO of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, said, "Through the leadership and vision of Governor Andrew Cuomo, and the critical investment by the US Department of Energy, New York is leading the national effort to accelerate the deployment of efficient and cost-effective solar energy through the development of innovative CIGS technology.

”The engagement of three leading solar executives is an important step in enabling PVMC to deliver the first US CIGS PV Roadmap. We look forward to their guidance and participation in this important endeavor.”

Roadmapping priorities

Dan Armbrust, CEO of PVMC and President and CEO of Sematech, said, "One important objective of PVMC is to build leadership around roadmapping to establish the disciplines of financial and cost modeling, strategic planning and other long-term activities for CIGS PV manufacturing and applications. PVMC will take a lead role in bringing in the entire industry supply chain to collaborate in defining critical challenges and potential solutions for over the next decade.”

Spearheaded by CNSE and Sematech as part of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot Initiative, PVMC is targeting a reduction in the total installed cost of solar energy systems by 75 per cent over the next decade. The CIGS PV Roadmap aims to provide a congruent plan for the national CIGS industry, including module and systems manufacturers, suppliers, and end-users, that will identify common challenges and define the areas of technical developments needed to sustain and advance a competitive US photovoltaic industry.

Dr. Larry Kazmerski, Dr. Joseph Laia, and Dr. Richard Swanson will serve as co-chairs for the groundbreaking effort, which will include participation from all sectors of the photovoltaic industry and support the development and growth of advanced solar PV-related manufacturing processes throughout the United States.

Serving as the champions for the U.S. CIGS PV Roadmap, the co-chairs will direct the activities and decisions of the Roadmap Executive Steering Committee (RESC) and guide roadmap working groups addressing six focus areas relevant to the entire industry, including roll-to-roll; rigid glass; metrology; modules and packaging; substrates and materials; and reliability, certification, and test.

As the primary sponsor of the effort, PVMC is providing resources for managing and coordinating the roadmap activities. Members of the CIGS PV Roadmap represent all areas of the PV industry including module producers and integrators, equipment suppliers, materials and metrology tools, end-users, and the research community.

Speakers and workshops at Intersolar 2012

Leaders and technologists from the PVMC will speak on the importance of a collaborative supply chain in the U.S. and highlight leading-edge research during a series of appearances at Intersolar North America 2012, being held July 9-12 in San Francisco, CA. More information and the line up of speakers is available at the Intersolar 2012 website.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org.