By Kari Williamson

The three-step single-opening laminators (e.a.sy-Lam SL) can reach an annual capacity of up to 110 MWp.

On the highest level, a 10-opening laminator can produce an annual capacity of up to 265 MWp, representing a doubling of capacity from the current standard process, Bürkle says.

“Among others, we have increased the temperature for laminating glass-foil modules,” says Product Manager Dagmar Metzger.

Depending on the foil type, an increase of the operating temperature by 10°C to for example 160°C can double the cross-linking speed. Combined with a higher pressure and a reduction of the evacuating time, it is possible to reduce the process to 3.5 minutes.

Testing the process

At the end of next February Bürkle plans to install a lamination line at their headquarters in the Black Forest, Germany, on which the solar module manufacturer can test the new process and for producing solar PV modules for certification.

Moreover the company has received a certificate of the test laboratory Cetecom ICT Service GmbH from Saarbrücken confirming the quality of the modules produced via the SL process.

Reduced unit cost

The unit costs per solar PV module can be reduced by up to 25% due to the shortened lamination times of the SL production as the costs depending on the machine such as energy, maintenance and staff costs, can be considerably lowered, Bürkle says.