Concentrix Solar GmbH was a German solar power company based in Freiburg, Germany that specialized in developing and commercializing

concentrator photovoltaics Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates electricity from sunlight. Unlike conventional photovoltaic systems, it uses lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto ...

(CPV) technology. In December 2009, Concentrix Solar was acquired by the French Soitec Group. In January 2015, Soitec announced its intention to exit from the CPV business, citing a lack of sales due to competition from lower-cost conventional photovoltaics. An agreed sale of the business to Chinese firm ConcenSolar (an entity having ties with

Suncore Photovoltaics Suncore Photovoltaic Technology Company Limited ("Suncore") is a solar energy company that specializes in concentrator photovoltaics (CPV), an emerging photovoltaic (PV) technology. The company manufactures, develops, and finances CPV systems f ...

) in May 2015 was not completed. In January 2017, the technology and manufacturing assets were acquired by Saint-Augustin Canada Electric (a former

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

subsidiary).

History

Concentrix Solar was founded in 2005, as a spin-off company of the

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (or Fraunhofer ISE) is an institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Located in Freiburg, Germany, The Institute performs applied scientific and engineering research and development for all a ...

. Concentrix Solar builds large concentrator

solar power plants Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltai ...

suitable for sunny areas. In 2007, Concentrix Solar was awarded the Innovation Award of the German Economy for its CPV technology. From February 2006 to December 2009, the investment company Good Energies was invested in Concentrix Solar.

Abengoa Solar Abengoa Solar (formerly Solúcar Energía) is a subsidiary of Abengoa. Its primary activities include designing, promotion, financing attainment, construction and operation of solar power stations that use photovoltaics, concentrated photovoltaic ...

was an investor of Concentrix Solar from November 2007 to December 2009.

Technology Innovation

Concentrix

(CPV) modules bundle sunlight up to 500 times with the use of fresnel lenses and focus it on III-V based

Triple-junction solar cell Multi-junction (MJ) solar cells are solar cells with multiple p–n junctions made of different semiconductor materials. Each material's p-n junction will produce electric current in response to different wavelengths of light. The use of multiple ...

s (GaInP/GaInAs/Ge), which then convert the light into

electrical energy Electrical energy is energy related to forces on electrically charged particles and the movement of electrically charged particles (often electrons in wires, but not always). This energy is supplied by the combination of electric current and electr ...

. To ensure that the sunlight is concentrated precisely on the solar cell the CPV modules are installed on a two-axis

sun tracking system A solar tracker is a device that orients a payload toward the Sun. Payloads are usually solar panels, parabolic troughs, fresnel reflectors, lenses or the mirrors of a heliostat. For flat-panel photovoltaic systems, trackers are used to ...

. With its technology, Concentrix Solar achieves a module efficiency of 27%.

Technology Commercialization

Concentrix's tracker and CPV module technologies have been installed in 28 countries worldwide. The largest installation is the 44 MW_p (36 MW_AC) CPV1 generator completed in 2014 and located near Touws River, South Africa. As of 2019, it is the second largest CPV power station in the world.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Soitec CPV Installations - 2014Concentrix Technology for Utility-Scale Solar Power Plants, Soitec S.A.Soitec Concentrix Technical Data Sheet Fraunhofer Institute for solar energyInnovation Prize of the German economy
Solar power in Germany Solar energy companies of Germany Technology companies of Germany Companies based in Baden-Württemberg

History

Technology Innovation

Technology Commercialization

See also

References

External links