Breakthrough Solar Innovation

Led by Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s founder and one of the world’s leading scientists of solar technology, our 240+ strong in-house R&D team works continuously to develop pioneering solutions that make solar energy more efficient and affordable while upholding our high international quality standards.

Pluto Technology
Suntech’s breakthrough Pluto technology is in the first phase of commercialization and is already achieving over 18% conversion efficiency on monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) cells and close to 17% conversion efficiency on polycrystalline PV cells in mass production, well above conventional screen-printed crystalline PV cells. Suntech anticipates ongoing enhancement of the Pluto technology and targets to achieve 20% conversion efficiency on monocrystalline PV cells and 18% on polycrystalline PV cells within the next 2 years.

Pluto technology delivers higher efficiency and power output without increasing the cost of production. The powerful Pluto panels improve space utilization and minimize installation and other balance of system costs. Unique texturing technology, with lower reflectivity, ensures more sunlight can be absorbed throughout the day even without direct solar radiation. Suntech’s patent pending Pluto technology can be applied to a variety of grades of silicon to suit multiple applications and product types. Pluto products will be shipped with Suntech’s standard 25 year power output warranty.

“The successful production of Pluto solar cells and panels is the result of years of world-class research and development and is a milestone achievement for Suntech. This breakthrough technology is integral to Suntech’s strategy to drive towards grid parity and widespread global adoption of solar energy solutions,” remarked Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s Chairman and CEO. “For customers, Pluto means greater efficiency and power output, equating to better utilization of space and lower installation costs.”

Production Process Innovation
Through continuous evolution of Suntech’s production processes, we are able to find lower cost production methods while further enhancing product uniformity and quality. With the recent acquisition of KSL-Kuttler, a German company specializing in equipment automation in the Printed Circuit Board industry, Suntech has been able to accelerate the innovation in this area. We foresee a transition to greater automation in PV cell and module production lines over the next 12 to 18 months.

New Product Development
Suntech’s new product team concentrates on the development of new product offerings and solar energy solutions that match the needs of solar users both today and tomorrow. Aside from our internal team, we also work closely with other innovators in the industry to share expertise and accelerate the path from concept to market. Two companies that we are currently working with are DRI Companies/Lumeta and Akeena. In particular, we have worked with Akeena to co-develop and manufacture a solar module that integrates the racking and wiring into the frame. This all black module has a sleek and highly aesthetic appearance and the integrated racking reduces installation time and cost significantly. We have licensed this product from Akeena and are leveraging our international distribution network to sell this innovative new product in Europe, Japan and Australia.

New Materials
Another key focus of Suntech’s R&D department is testing and evaluating new and improved materials to utilize in our cell and module production. Our material science team constantly researches alternative materials – such as upgraded metallurgical silicon, EVA, glass and module backsheets – that have the potential to enhance product quality and reduce the cost of solar energy products.

Thin Film
Thin film is of increasing importance as Suntech builds our first 50MW production line. Dr. Shi personally has 11 patents in thin film related solar technologies and a number of other members of our R&D team have worked with him in the commercialization of thin film technology prior to starting Suntech. We plan to leverage this in-house expertise to develop a range of differentiated thin film offerings combined with best of class conversion efficiency. In particular, we believe that the flexibility of thin film solar technology is ideally suited to building integrated PV (BIPV) solutions and we intend to use our thin film expertise to strengthen our already impressive BIPV product line.