The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister Ahn Deok-geun) announced on the twenty seventh that with a purpose to strengthen the competitiveness of the solar energy industry, it’s going to hold a completion ceremony and start full operation of the 'Solar Energy Enterprise Joint Utilization Research Center', which is provided with Korea's only 100MW solar energy research prototype production facility (Pilot Line).

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it has built a research center through joint investment with Daejeon City and the Korea Institute of Energy Research, reflecting requests from corporations that a pre-mass production verification facility for developed products is urgently needed to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of the domestic solar energy industry.

The research center has a world-class 50MW solar cell line and a high output 100MW in order that corporations and research institutes can develop and confirm products with various cell structures (PERC, TOPCon, HJT, Tentum, etc.) and sizes (M6~M12). Equipped with a category module line.

As well as, we plan to offer reliable certification services by equipping ourselves with international-level cell and module efficiency measurement equipment and certification and evaluation support facilities.

In the longer term, corporations will have the ability to make use of research centers to develop and confirm products without having to stop production line operations, so it is predicted that the operation of research centers will greatly contribute to improving corporate productivity.

Lee Ho-hyeon, head of the Energy Policy Department, who attended the completion ceremony, said, “To ensure that the solar energy industry to secure a worldwide competitive edge, it’s most vital to preoccupy the next-generation high-efficiency solar cell technology.” “I hope we take the lead in securing it,” he said.

Reporter Taeyong Kim future@aitimes.com