Headquartered in Singapore, Maxeon Solar Technologies has developed an innovative and flexible way to install solar panels on the roofs of commercial buildings that can’t support standard setups. The company has produced thin, lightweight, and frameless solar panels, dubbed Maxeon Air, that can adhere directly to any rooftop.
Jeff Waters, the CEO of Maxeon, explained:
For close to 50 years, the solar power industry has almost exclusively utilized glass superstrate panel construction. However, as solar panels have increased in size and the cost of solar cells has been dramatically reduced, the cost of transporting, installing, and mounting large glass panels has become a relatively larger portion of the total system cost.
With Maxeon Air technology, we can now develop products that reduce these costs while opening up completely new market opportunities such as low-load commercial rooftops.
The Maxeon Air panels are described as a “peel-and-stick” solution. An integrated adhesive layer allows them to be installed directly on the rooftops of commercial buildings without needing ballast, anchors, racking, or aluminum frames. The panels are also designed to work with uneven roof surfaces.
Each panel contains numerous IBC solar cells, which have stress-relieved cell connects and a metal foundation. They are claimed to be corrosion-resistant and able to bend without cracking. Overall panel efficiency is hyped as 20.9%, and shade tolerance is also integrated into the design.
Maxeon’s IBC module technology has the unique ability to pass current while shaded, continuing to produce power in conditions that would shut off other panels. This feature, along with inherently low-temperature sensitivity, ensures industry-leading performance in all conditions.
With a claimed weight of less than half of conventional panels, roughly 6 kg/m2, the Maxeon Air panels are ideal for installation on roofs that can’t support the weight of traditional solar systems. Maxeon estimates that the available potential from low-load commercial rooftops in Europe could surpass 4 GW. The company also sees potential use on e-mobility, residential rooftops, and floating solar farms in the future.
The Maxeon Air technology platform continues our 35-year legacy of solar panel technology innovation and once again demonstrates the ability of our R&D team to develop leading-edge, disruptive technology.
After half a decade of research and development, the Maxeon Air technology will make its debut in July, followed by a few installations for projects in Europe in the second half of this year. The frameless panels are expected to be available to the public in the first quarter of 2022.