REC places order for Maxwell’s HJT solar line

Norwegian solar specialist REC Group has signed a supply agreement with Maxwell Technologies for heterojunction solar cell and module manufacturing equipment. Under the agreement, Maxwell will supply 600 MW of manufacturing equipment for REC’s latest heterojunction technology (HJT) innovation, REC Alpha Pure-R, introduced at this year’s Intersolar Europe.

The supply agreement follows the acquisition of REC last December by Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest private sector company.

Maxwell has been REC’s supply partner since 2017 when REC first launched its N-Peak product and used Maxwell’s print line for its TOPCon cells. Maxwell once again secured REC order for print line equipment when REC launched its HJT Alpha Series in 2019.

Over the last two and half years, the two companies have expanded their collaboration on HJT cell and module equipment, the key foundation for the new REC Alpha Pure-R Series.

Shankar G. Sridhara, CTO at REC Group, said, “For REC, this supply agreement means we have a reliable partner with a cost-effective and aggressive R&D roadmap, well matching our future product portfolio. With a strong manufacturing capacity, Maxwell is also able to meet REC’s aggressive ambition to become a multi-GW HJT player in the solar industry in the coming years.”

REC Alpha Pure-R Series solar panel features half-cut HJT cells in the large G12 format. It measures less than 2 square meters in size and can deliver up to 430 Wp, which makes it ideal for residential rooftops. The panel is lead-free and RoHS compliant. Production started this September at REC’s site in Singapore based on Maxwell’s equipment, doubling REC’s HJT Alpha capacities from 600 MW to 1.2 GW.