IMEC at the forefront of photovoltaics

IMEC at the forefront of photovoltaics

IMEC ramps up R&D investment in silicon solar cells

“Sticking to your guns” sometimes pays off, but is often perceived as a “sticking in the mud” strategy in today’s ever changing digital econoscape. The industry of photovoltaic cell production, which only really kicked off after the Second World War, has seen many advances in such a short time, but also (fairly recently) a number of detractors. From being a market tipped to take off in the 80s, real economic growth has only been realised in the past few years, as the world returns to a sustainable/renewable energy model as a long term solution. Commencing research in photovoltaic technology in the 80s, IMEC stuck to its guns and today is an absolute world leader in an area that is pivotal to our future energy supplies.

Background to IMEC

Set up as an initiative by the Flemish government in the mid 80s, today IMEC is Europe’s largest independent research centre in nano-electronics and nano-technology. Launched with a fairly modest budget, the organisation nevertheless had a definite and bold goal: strengthen the Flanders-based microelectronics industry through the formation of an advanced research laboratory on microelectronics technologies.

From the start, this non-profit organisation had increasing the functionality of chips, nanotechnology and photovoltaic technology at the heart of its aspirations. As of late, the core focus areas of the company have also come to include technology for wireless communication, wireless autonomous transducer solutions, biomedical electronics, organic electronics and GaN power electronics. Part of IMEC’s rapid growth in the mid 90’s can be ascribed to its core strategy: to bridge the gap between lab-based research and the industrial application(s) of results. Their semi-industrial plant, providing IMEC with the ability to manufacture a range of technologies, has meant that their R&D work can quickly be translated to a commercial scale. With a sturdy network of major industrial partners (accounting for over 80% of the organisation’s budget) and extensive collaboration with universities worldwide, the organisation is effectively able to leverage cost and risk sharing, cross-fertilization of knowledge and bilaterally shared results.