German silicon solar wafer producer NexWafe GmbH has announced that it has achieved a significant breakthrough in its solar manufacturing technology. Using EpiNex technology, the company’s solar wafers, for the first time, have achieved an efficiency of 24.4% on a commercial M6 heterojunction (HJT) cell line, which is equivalent to the performance of its Czochralski (CZ) wafers. Modules made from both TOPCon and HJT solar cells match or exceed the performance of CZ wafers. This signifies a major milestone in the company’s innovative approach towards wafer production.At the heart of this breakthrough is NexWafe’s direct gas-to-wafer production process, which serves as a seamless drop-in replacement for CZ wafers. This process eliminates the need for traditional wafer slicing, significantly reducing material waste and production costs. By cutting material waste to under 10% – a sharp contrast to the 50% loss associated with CZ technology – EpiNex minimizes wire saw kerf losses. Moreover, it reduces energy consumption by 40% and eliminates the saw damage etch process step in cell production, providing both environmental and economic benefits.EpiNex technology is also positioned to meet the demands of emerging solar cell applications, such as those for space and tandem-junction cells. These applications require thinner, more thermally stable wafers with precise flatness and superior material quality – characteristics that EpiNex wafers are designed to deliver. Adding to its advantages, EpiNex wafers have an oxygen content that is 20 times lower than that of conventional CZ wafers.Expressing delight at the developments, Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe, said, “These latest results are transformative for photovoltaic wafer manufacturing. EpiNex has the potential to shake up the solar industry in a way similar to the historic shift from polycrystalline ingots to single-crystal silicon. Just as that transition led the entire industry to retool its processes, unlocking significant efficiency gains and paving the way for today’s high-performance solar technology, EpiNex will drive a similar transformation.”
