7th SHJ Workshop: Catania and 3SUN at the centre of the solar innovation

Heterojunction solar technology (HJT) experts from all over the world gathered for two days in Catania, Italy, during the 7th International Workshop on Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells. A unique opportunity to discuss the state of maturity and competitiveness of this technology that reunited the most important players in the HJT world, from research centres and manufacturers to suppliers and academic experts. 

And this year, the event travelled all the way to Catania, precisely because of the presence of the only European Gigafactory that produces solar modules and cells (with HJT technology) - ours. The event was organised by 3SUN together with SNEC and the University of Catania, which provided the splendid setting of the Benedictine Monastery, home of the University, to celebrate and host the event. In addition, our Chief Technology Officer, Cosimo Gerardi, as the workshop chair, played a key role in organising the topics to be discussed on the two-day stage, and create a meeting full of interesting, topical and valuable insights for the global photovoltaics scientific community. 

Star of the event: innovation

During the two-day event, central themes for the present and future of HJT technology were explored, including module stability and reliability, advanced industrial processes, the development of new materials and technologies, efficiency and reduced production costs. The shared objective was to enhance and consolidate the potential of HJT, a fundamental technology for increasingly high-performance, long-lasting and sustainable PV systems. 

During the event, the lectures provided an up-to-date overview of the progress of HJT, touching in particular on the importance of this technology as a platform for the future development of even more high-performing and efficient developments, such as Tandem.

3SUN, Europe's benchmark for solar technology development 

In this regard, Gerardi did not hide his enthusiasm about the meeting's success: 'It was a source of great pride for us to host world-leading figures of the photovoltaic industry in Catania. This city, renowned for its cultural heritage, is also emerging as a centre of technological excellence for photovoltaics and microelectronics.' 'In all this - continued Geraldi - 3SUN plays a key role in the evolution of HJT, a technology with which we have proven to be able to increase efficiency and reduce module costs like never before. And this success that makes us the reference for HJT solar cells at a European level and allows us to compete globally.'

At the end of the event, we had the pleasure of hosting the workshop participants in our Gigafactory, in a tour of Europe's largest solar cell and module factory, to experience first-hand the work we are doing in terms of technological development and production of high-performing photovoltaic modules.