SOLAR CELLS TALON PV and Fraunhofer ISE establish pilot manufacturing line in Germany

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The American solar cell manufacturer TALON PV is building a 4-gigawatt manufacturing facility for high-efficiency TOPCon solar cells in the USA, with a targeted start of production by the end of 2026. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE supports the company in this endeavor.

As part of the ramp-up, the research institute is establishing a pilot production line for TALON PV's TOPCon solar cells at its Photovoltaic Technology Evaluation Center in Freiburg, Germany. This pilot facility will enable TALON PV to refine both its product design and manufacturing processes. At RE+ 2025, from September 8 to 11 in Las Vegas, scientists from Fraunhofer ISE will provide an overview of different photovoltaic factory concepts and insights into technology selection.

"The copy of the manufacturing line from TALON PV allows us to optimize both the product and the process of the new factory even before production begins," said Dr. Jochen Rentsch, Head of PV Technology Transfer at Fraunhofer ISE. "This saves time and money." To achieve this, TALON PV adds specific manufacturing equipment to the existing facilities of Fraunhofer ISE at its PV-TEC, mirroring the equipment that will be used in their commercial 4GW manufacturing facility in the US. The phases of technology selection and factory layout planning are already complete. Furthermore, TALON PV utilizes the pilot line to train its personnel on the operation and optimization of production equipment.

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Following the production ramp-up at TALON PV’s U.S. manufacturing facility, further solar cell development will take place on the “sister” pilot line in Freiburg. “With TOPCon solar cells in the G12 format, we are bringing the most advanced cell technology to market,” said Adam Tesanovich, Co-Founder and CEO of TALON PV. “At the same time, we are already preparing for the next generation of solar technologies, particularly perovskite-silicon tandem cells. Fraunhofer ISE is an ideal R&D partner to help drive these advancements alongside us.”

TALON PV is committed to supplying American module manufacturers with G12, G12R, and customized TOPCon solar cells, thereby reinforcing and localizing the U.S. solar supply chain. Fraunhofer ISE, one of the biggest solar research institutes worldwide, with 400 employees working on technology innovations for the PV industry, alone. It is known as inventor and name-giver of the TOPCon cell architecture, which has just overtaken all other cell designs with respect to market share in 2024. It is among the few organizations outside of China capable of fully manufacturing TOPCon solar cells in the latest large-format designs.

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