Premier Energies has begun trial production at its N-type TOPCon G12R solar cell manufacturing facility in Naidupeta. The company said the 101-acre facility is India’s largest solar cell manufacturing plant and forms part of its plans to develop an integrated solar manufacturing platform, including expansion into ingot and wafer production.

Conventional silicon photovoltaic (PV) panels are produced in a multi-step process, according to a US Department of Energy guide. The first step is creating polysilicon, high-purity, fine-grained crystalline silicon. The liquid polysilicon mass is next treated in such a way to form solid ingots, from which wafers can be cut or formed. PV cells are fabricated from wafers. They are made into modules with the addition of a net of copper conductor wire.

According to the company, the facility can produce around 88,000 solar cells per hour. Digital systems and artificial intelligence are used for predictive performance analysis, process control and precision manufacturing, while automated transport, packing and packaging systems support throughput and operating efficiency.

The plant has been designed to accommodate future upgrades to TOPCon+ technologies, including poly-finger metallisation and advanced edge-isolation processes.

Once ramp-up is complete, Premier Energies said the facility is targeting average solar cell efficiencies of around 25.8%.

The site also incorporates a zero liquid discharge system designed to maximise water recycling and reuse.