A local company will today launch a plant in Stellenbosch to produce new solar panel technology to rival international products.
Photovoltaic Technology Intellectual Property (PTIP), together with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), will open Africa's first semi-commercial plant, which manufactures thin-film solar electricity panels to meet renewable energy needs.
The plant will be housed in Technopark - a science and technology park in Stellenbosch - and will produce commercial-sized panels, using engineering solutions supplied by German company Singulus Technologies.
Today's launch is the culmination of a project started in 1993 by professor Vivian Alberts, from the University of Johannesburg's (UJ's) physics department, which founded PTIP. "As a university project, world-class results at laboratory level were already achieved in 2002," says a DST statement.
Alberts, CEO of PTIP, says the company is committed to working with local companies to ensure the product's commercial success. "In terms of cost and quality, the technology and product can compete with any similar product worldwide. The facility at Technopark was designed and equipped with highly sophisticated equipment to ensure constant improvements to the product," she says.
Local innovation
Traditional solar panels are made of silicon technology which has a thickness of 300 microns, while the PTIP's thin-film module will be 3 microns (0.003mm).
The new-generation thin-film photovoltaic technology was developed in SA and the DST says the module "includes a unique homogenous semi-conductor alloy, comprising five chemical elements".
The DST says PTIP is the first local company "to convert basic raw materials through 15 production processes into a fully-integrated solar energy product - all under one roof".
According to UJ, the project attracted R140 million in funding - including R12 million from the DST - and PTIP expects the product to enter the local market soon after the launch.
Photovoltaic technology is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, according to the DST. "In 2011, thin-film solar photovoltaic technology accounted for 11% of market share and further growth is expected."
DST director-general Phil Mjwara, German ambassador Dr Horst Freitag, and Geoffrey Qhena, CEO of the Industrial Development Corporation, are expected to attend the launch.
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