Konarka Technologies develops and manufactures solar plastic films that convert light to electricity, and is a developer of polymer-based, organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology that provides a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors.
Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Konarka Power Plastic®, a lightweight, flexible organic solar film that converts light to electricity, has announced that Konarka’s organic solar modules have passed through aging tests following the type approval standard for photovoltaic thin-film modules IEC 61646. These recent tests confirm that Konarka’s flexible applications can withstand critical IEC stress tests, while in February, the company announced product testing success in a rigid glass system. Testing was performed by TÜV Rheinland, a leading international test provider, in its Solar Energy Assessment Center (SEAC) in Cologne, Germany. These recent advances continue to be based upon Konarka’s inverted cell architecture, the company’s proprietary intellectual property protected under issued patents.
“In addition to the many rigid, glass-based applications where Konarka’s Power Plastic has been designed into OEM products, customers using Power Plastic in applications requiring a flexible photovoltaic material can now move forward with product lifetime confidence as a result of this most recent TÜV Rheinland performance testing,” commented Howard Berke, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Konarka. “For customers who want to take advantage of Power Plastic’s extensive product features, including colour options, transparency and custom sizes, Konarka continues to extend tremendous, independent validation for Power Plastic’s lifetime performance for applications requiring flexibility, conformance to contours and standalone applications.”
The SEAC of TÜV Rheinland in Cologne is the world’s leading test lab which optimizes processes and modern testing and simulation facilities for proven quality and reliability according to national and international standards. In February, Konarka announced its organic photovoltaic modules were the first OPV technology to pass through the set of individual critical tests following IEC 61646 performed by TÜV Rheinland.
Thin, lightweight, transparent and flexible, Power Plastic solar films are ideally suited for integration into various building materials, including glass, plastics, steel, composites and fabrics, offering creative architects and product designers superior, widespread latitude with several colour and transparency options across a wide range of sizes enabled by Konarka’s roll-to-roll continuous manufacturing process.
Konarka Technologies develops and manufactures solar plastic films that convert light to electricity – anywhere. As the leading developer of polymer-based, organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology that provides a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors, Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses and an accomplished technical, scientific and manufacturing team. Manufactured at low cost and low energy consumption, the company’s Konarka Power Plastic® technology is lightweight, flexible, scalable and adaptable for use in a variety of commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., US, and has a full-scale production manufacturing facility in New Bedford, Mass. US, with European headquarters in Nürnberg, Germany and a business development office in Japan.