Recently, China’s first and the world’s largest single CdTe power glass panel successfully rolled off the production line in Chengdu. The glass, known as “oil well hanging on the wall” can generate enormous amount of energy, overturning the traditional perception of curtain wall as the “shelter material”.
The production line is the fruit of the joint effort by Bengbu Glass Industrial Design Institute and its affiliated R&D teams in Germany and U.S. after nearly ten years of hard work. With integration of innovative high-end materials and glass substrate technology, the institute has the completely independent intellectual property. By evenly coating a 4um (equivalent to 1% of a human hair) thin CdTe photovoltaic film over insulated semiconductor glass, an ordinary glass becomes a revolutionary building material that can generate power. With the 1.92 square meter single pane size and conversion efficiency up to 17.8%, the product can generate 260 to 270 kWh each year and has successfully realized the dynamic integration of glass and PV material. As a green, recyclable, and power generating versatile building material, the product is an ideal alternative to traditional bricks and curtain walls, laying a solid foundation for the large-scale implementation of PV integrated building constructions.