The technology giant General Electric cooperates with the startup PrimeStar Solarinc, and is committed to the research and development of thin film photovoltaic technology. General Motors holds a majority stake in PrimeStar Solar.
Danielle Merfeld, the solar R&D leader of GE, said: “After a detailed investigation on the development prospect of photovoltaic, we believe that thin film photovoltaic technology is the best development direction of GE”.
GM plans to tap the potential of PrimeStar’s cadmium telluride technology by developing thin film photovoltaic solar modules at PrimeStar’s headquarters in Arvada, CO, Colorado.
Cadmium telluride is a crystalline compound formed by tellurium and cadmium, which can be used to manufacture infrared optical lenses and solar cell materials.
At the same time, G.E. Global Research is also conducting research and development activities in its four global R&D centers to provide the best solar technology.
The company’s R&D team in Munich, Germany, identified and solved the product degradation and packaging problems by evaluating the performance of finished components in indoor and outdoor test devices.
The team’s expertise in solar systems enabled it to establish standards for optimizing component performance.
In addition, GM’s technology center in Shanghai, China, focuses on using China’s rich resources of cadmium telluride raw materials and the impact of this material on the performance of solar cell modules to solve related problems, improve the performance of materials and develop advanced material characterization technologies.
GM also believes that if the basic physical properties of materials and solar power generation devices can be understood, the performance and reliability of products can be greatly improved. Therefore, the company arranged for its John? Experts from the John F. Welch Technology Center developed a complete set of modules as a guide for advanced solar power module design.
With more than 3000 scientists, the center is the largest multidisciplinary research and development center of General Motors outside the United States.
Finally, the technical experts of General Motors in the research and development center of Niskayuna, NY, New York, studied all the necessary stages for the development of cadmium telluride modules, including the growth of materials, the development of modules and the development of sound processing methods.
These experts have technical experience in many fields, such as surface chemistry, laser processing methods and plasma physics. These experts are also proud of their product development experience. These products cover GE’s medical, lighting, battery and other technical product areas.
Ms. Merfeld said: “GM’s R&D personnel use their world-class professional experience in materials, the ability to model and design special materials and components, and the most advanced indoor and outdoor solar energy testing equipment to carry out 24-hour innovation through our four global R&D centers, and can bring a breakthrough product to the market in a very short time.”
General Electric (NYSE: GE) also offers a variety of utility based solar solutions, such as smart grid power electronics, pre packaged systems, and solar inverters. Its world famous 1.5MW wind turbine generator can provide stable power conversion efficiency.
G.E. Energy, a subsidiary of the company, is one of the major suppliers in the field of power generation and energy transmission technology. Its revenue in 2009 exceeded 37 billion dollars.
G.E. Energy is composed of G.E. Power and Water, G.E. Energy Services and G.E. OilandGas. It aims to provide energy solutions for coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydropower, wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy and other renewable energies such as alternative fuels.
