PROJECTS
The ATON project being run by the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness, and in which IK4-TEKNIKER is participating, has a budget of 18 million euros and aims to research and develop techniques to generate solar energy using 100% Spanish technology.
The initiative, led by the Grupo Unisolar and in which companies like Acciona and Acerinox plus research centres like the CSIC (National Scientific Research Council) are participating, sets out to drive forward the Spanish solar panel industry to enable it to lead exports.
The boom in solar energy in Spain has an Achilles heel: the vast majority of the solar farms have solar panels that have been manufactured using foreign technology. The considerable dependence on largely imported energy sources like oil or gas boosted the development of local alternatives like wind or solar energy in the past. Now, a plan has emerged to set up a solar energy industry that uses Spanish technology.
That is why the ATON project of the Centre for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI), which reports to the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness, and provided with an 18 million-euro budget, has set itself the goal of researching and developing new techniques for generating energy based on thin film photovoltaic cells, the ones used in solar panels, with 100% Spanish technology.
This project, in which IK4-TEKNIKER is collaborating alongside another 25 top companies and research organisations, is designed to boost the potential of Spanish industry so that in the future a solar energy generating industry can be developed using Spanish technology. So the ATON project, started in 2009 and due for completion this year, and which is led by the Grupo Unisolar, is also aiming to boost the market for export and technology transfer in this sector and to contribute towards the creation of highly qualified jobs.
In recent years photovoltaic facilities have seen strong growth worldwide with the main aim of increasing the penetration of solar power while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The research proposed by the ATON project seeks to take advantage of this trend with two main goals: to get the organisations belonging to the consortium to acquire knowledge to exploit technology effectively and by optimizing means; and to acquire sufficient knowledge to go on to launch a development project to sell production equipment or services linked directly or indirectly with the photovoltaic sector.
IK4-TEKNIKER, whose services have a budget of 1.5 million euros, is participating in the consortium of the ATON project along with another 12 leading companies, featuring top enterprises in sectors linked to solar energy, like Acciona, Acerinox and Maser, plus 13 research bodies, like the Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), the Research Centre for Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (CINN-CSIC), or the R+D Centre IK4-Gaiker.
PVD Technology
IK4-TEKNIKER’s work in this project consists of developing one of the key components of the photovoltaic panel, the CIGS absorber, in addition to other tasks like the selective etching of the solar cells. For this purpose, the Basque R+D Centre is using PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) technology, in the application of which it is accredited with broad experience.
The application of PVD technology to the solar panel sector has undergone a great boom recently, since it has emerged as the most promising among thin film photovoltaic technologies owing to its high potential for efficiency, cost cutting and adaptability to a range of substrates, including flexible panels.
PVD is a technology involving thin film coatings (between tens of nanometres and microns) which are obtained by vacuum evaporation. Through this technique it is possible to obtain extremely tough coatings that increase the life of the components.
Furthermore, the surface properties of a material can be modified to achieve the desired functionalities and produce excellent surface finishes.
PVD coating, the technology that IK4-TEKNIKER uses to develop solar panels, has applications in a whole host of other sectors: mechanical components, vehicle headlamps, solar energy, spectacles, metallisation of bags for potatoes, touch screens, architectural glass, micro-electronics, etc.
IK4-TEKNIKER
With experience spanning nearly 30 years in research into applied technology and its transfer to companies, IK4-TEKNIKER has achieved a high degree of specialisation in four major areas (Precision Engineering and Mechatronics, Surface Engineering, Production and Automation Engineering, and Manufacturing Technologies), which enables it to put its state-of-the-art technology at the service of any kind of task.
