Date: 07/04/2012

Panasonic bagged IEEE corporate innovation award for HIT solar technology

Panasonic Corporation was presented with the IEEE Corporate Innovation Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) on June 30 at the IEEE Honors Ceremony held in Boston, Mass. Panasonic was named “for developing and commercializing high-performance heterojunction solar technology (HIT)" by the IEEE.

Panasonic's HIT solar cells have a unique hybrid structure comprised of amorphous silicon and crystalline silicon, for which the company embarked on research and development in 1990. The company claims, that in 1980, it became the first in the world to mass produce amorphous silicon solar cells, which were widely used as power source for electronic calculators, thereby contributing to the spread of solar cells. In 1997, Panasonic commenced mass production of HIT solar cells and panels boasting the highest-level power generation capability. HIT panels have earned acclaim for their quality and power generation capability.

The HIT solar cells have achieved a conversion efficiency of 23.9% at R&D level and 21.6% at mass production level. The company now has a total production capacity of 600MW of HIT solar cells per year, meeting demand in the three major markets of Japan, Europe, and the U.S.
The new Malaysian factory which is an integrated production site for wafers (slicing), cells, and panels is coming on stream by year-end.