ARMOR solar power films has been acknowledged for three of its innovations by the European Commission’s Innovation Radar. The three innovations result from the European funded project OLEDSOLAR, a project dedicated to the development of innovative manufacturing processes and in-line monitoring techniques for the OLED (organic LED) and thin film and organic photovoltaic industries. The innovations cover different stages of the OPV manufacturing process showcasing ARMOR solar power films’ broad innovation capabilities all along the process chain.
Recognized among the best EU-funded innovators ARMOR solar power films has been acknowledged for several innovations by the European Commission’s Innovation Radar. These innovations have been developed in the OLEDSOLAR project funded by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 framework program. They have been identified as innovations “actively exploring value creation opportunities and addressing the needs of existing markets and customers”.
ARMOR solar power films has not only been recognized once but for three different technology building blocks which are distributed along the entire OPV manufacturing process chain demonstrating the company’s high innovative potential. The individual processes target improved laser trimming of modules in free-form shape using CO2 lasers, the development and production implementation of the so-called Late-Stage Customization (LSC) process, which allows the manufacturing of free-form modules based on pre-coated OPV films and last but not least a new baseline of in-line inspection for OPV coating using LED transmission, co-developed with TWI (The Welding Institute) Ltd., in the UK.
The Innovation Radar Accessible to the general public, the Innovation Radar is a platform created by a European Commission initiative aiming to identify high potential innovations and innovators who have previously received funding under European frameworks programs (Horizon 2020, FP7 etc.). It builds on independent experts, sharing their assessment while being involved in reviewing ongoing research and innovation projects. These experts therefore provided an independent view regarding the innovations in the projects and their market potential. The initiative has the support of EU member states and, to date, ministers from 23 countries have signed the Innovation Radar declaration confirming their support for this initiative. “We are proud to have our innovation strategy recognized here by the European Commission. ARMOR solar power films’ teams are pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with OPV technology. Being recognized by the Innovation Radar as a high potential innovator for multiple developments reinforces our commitment to provide access to energy, everywhere, for everyone, all the time” Hubert de Boisredon, Chairman and CEO of ARMOR.
The OLEDSOLAR project: a step forward to innovative manufacturing processes for opto-electronic devices ARMOR solar power films’ innovations have been developed as part of the OLEDSOLAR project, which aims to develop innovative manufacturing processes and in-line monitoring techniques for the OLED (organic LED) and thin film and organic photovoltaic industries (CIGS and OPV). “We are delighted to have been involved in a project with a main focus on innovation. In this context, we made numerous improvements to our processes even including the development of the related software. In addition, and as an excellent example of how open innovation processes should run, we co-implemented a new quality control process for the OPV modules together with TWI Ltd” explains Sebastian Meier, R&D Director of ARMOR solar power films in Germany.
The OLEDSOLAR project started in October 2018 and is made up of a multidisciplinary team of 16 leading European organizations, working together to create robust and scalable, high yield manufacturing and control processes that are tested on laboratory scale before being implemented on existing pilot and production lines. All the information about the innovations is available on the European Commission’s Innovation Radar’s platform. The OLEDSOLAR project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 820789.