The 3Sun Gigafactory Story: The breakthrough year and 3Sun Factory 2.0

Episode 4 For us, 2018 was a breakthrough year. Catania saw the birth of what we could actually call the 3Sun factory 2.0. The IT architecture managing production was new; thanks to the site’s wireless network coverage, staff and maintenance personnel could work on tablets and handheld devices, with a significant boost in operational efficiency. Above all, our products were new: bifacial photovoltaic panels, which were more efficient, state-of-the-art technology. Our focus on sustainability and innovation was not new, but even stronger. I’ve been working at 3Sun Gigafactory in the Engineering Department since 2011, so I’m part of the initial “core team”. I’ve followed all of the factory’s developments step by step, and I can confirm everyone makes a constant effort to always be on the cutting-edge. Our guiding motto is “Go Beyond.” In 2018, the market still wasn’t ready yet for a solar panel revolution. The mainstream trend was still single-sided modules, while bifacial cells were considered niche products. We at 3Sun Gigafactory were the pioneers: we wanted to take a gamble on the huge potential of high-efficiency panels, and the Enel Group’s management had the great foresight to support our plan. It turned out to be a winning choice: other manufacturers also followed us down this road. It was a huge satisfaction for us at 3Sun Gigafactory, and a demonstration of the fact that Enel actively promotes change and influences the markets. August 2, 2018, was a red-letter day: we produced the first bifacial panel certified by TÜV Rheinland of Cologne (one of the leading certification companies at the international level), which was therefore directly marketable. Without going into the technical details, I can say that bifacial modules are far more sustainable than traditional ones for a variety of reasons. First of all, they’re more efficient because they’re bifacial, which means they can capture sunlight from their back surface, too: their yield increases to 18%, almost twice as much compared to the 10% yield from thin-film modules. So more clean energy is produced for the same occupied surface – in other words, the cost for the same amount of clean energy produced is lower. Moreover, bifacial panels are stronger and last longer, thirty years or more, which lowers the consumption of raw materials. Finally, the percentage of reclaimable and recyclable materials is higher. But bifacial modules were more than just a goal. Our vision was already set on the next step: heterojunction bifacial modules (HJT), which have the same advantages and even better efficiency. It was a significant step forward, but one we took quickly: we manufactured our first HJT on February 26, 2019, just six months after making the first bifacial panel. As opposed to 2011, when we relied on the experience of the Japanese company Sharp, this time we created the production line entirely on our own. We had the support of some external partners, of course: Italian and German companies, French and Swiss research centers. It almost sounds like one of those jokes: “A German, a Frenchman, and an Italian walk into a bar…” except that the 3Sun Gigafactory adventure was a serious matter. And while the people from the joke never seem to get along, we proved the success of a technology developed in Catania with the support of French skills, Italian and German equipment, and German certification. For a project funded by the European Union, the Italian government, and the region of Sicily, you couldn’t find better example of European collaboration.

{{ currentMenugamenu.label }}

{{ currentSubMenugamenu.label }}

{{ card.title }}

{{ currentSubMenugamenu.numbers.title }}

The 3Sun Gigafactory Story: The breakthrough year and 3Sun Factory 2.0

The 3Sun Gigafactory Story: The breakthrough year and 3Sun Factory 2.0

Marcello Sciuto

Related content

{{article.title}}

{{article.title}}

{{article.title}}