Konarka’s next generation organic PV cells awarded world’s first OPV certification from TÜV Rheinland

LOWELL, USA: Konarka Technologies Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Konarka Power Plastic, a lightweight, flexible organic solar film that converts light to electricity, announced that Konarka’s next generation organic solar cells are the world’s first organic photovoltaic (OPV) to be certified in compliance with IEC 61646.

The certification work was done by TÜV Rheinland, a leading international test center based in Cologne, Germany. TÜV Rheinland’s Solar Energy Assessment Center performed the testing. These recent advances are based upon Konarka’s inverted cell architecture, the company’s proprietary intellectual property protected under issued patents.

“Receiving the world’s first certification from TÜV Rheinland for IEC compliance is an enormous achievement for Konarka’s OPV cells,” commented Howard Berke, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Konarka. “While our thin-film solar technology has numerous characteristics that set it apart from crystalline silicon and other thin-film technologies, this TÜV certification brings our competitive differentiation to a new level while affirming the stability of OPV under the solar industry’s accelerated lifetime testing protocol. We are delighted that our partners can confidently and effectively integrate Konarka Power Plastic into their glass BIPV applications including curtain walls, windows and other glass applications with IEC compliance.”

One of the world’s leading test labs, the Solar Energy Assessment Center of TÜV Rheinland optimizes processes and modern testing and simulation facilities for proven quality and reliability according to national and international standards.

Thin, light weight, transparent and flexible, Power Plastic solar films are ideally suited for integration into various building materials, including glass, steel, plastics, composites and fabrics, offering creative architects and product designers superior, widespread latitude with several color and transparency options across a wide range of sizes enabled by Konarka’s roll-to-roll continuous manufacturing process.