INNOVATION AND IP.

Since our fundation in 1977, we have been committed to innovation as a means of achieving growth, dedicating large part of our resources to promoting new product research and development, and extending our comprehensive service offering.

VISIT US AND EXPLORE OUR TURNKEY LINES AND INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENTS

At our stand, you will find information on the most advanced and automated high-tech turnkey lines along with individual machines, all of them developed by the Mondragon Assembly Team.

WE ENSURE THE TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF ALL OUR SOLUTIONS

We live in constant change and the PV industry is no exception. We are aware that the technological evolution in the solar industry is a concern for module manufacturers. That’s why we work alongside the most well-known technological centres to bring you the best solutions available in the PV industry.

We are the best partner to guide you in the technological evolution of your solution. This approach helps us to ensure that none of our partners are left behind.

So, what you are waiting for?

Take advantage of the chance to consult with our PV experts and receive advice for a customized solution that fits your needs. Whether you visit our booth or book an appointment through our website, RE+  2024 with Mondragon Assembly guarantees an exceptional experience!

VISIT US AND EXPLORE OUR TURNKEY LINES AND INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENTS

At our stand, you will find information on the most advanced and automated high-tech turnkey lines along with individual machines, all of them developed by the Mondragon Assembly Team.

WE ENSURE THE TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF ALL OUR SOLUTIONS

We live in constant change and the PV industry is no exception. We are aware that the technological evolution in the solar industry is a concern for module manufacturers. That’s why we work alongside the most well-known technological centres to bring you the best solutions available in the PV industry.

We are the best partner to guide you in the technological evolution of your solution. This approach helps us to ensure that none of our partners are left behind.

INNOVATION AND IP.

Since our fundation in 1977, we have been committed to innovation as a means of achieving growth, dedicating large part of our resources to promoting new product research and development, and extending our comprehensive service offering.

So, what you are waiting for?

Seize the opportunity to engage with our PV experts and get best advice for a tailored solution that meets your needs. Whether you choose to visit our stand or schedule an appointment via our website, Intersolar Europe 2024 with Mondragon Assembly promises to be an unparalleled experience!

Click here to view the Sustainability Report and Statement of Non-Financial Information 2023.

First line developed in Europe (Greece) true for agrivoltaic applications

Mondragon Assembly has secured a significant contract with Brite Hellas S.A. (Brite Solar) to construct a comprehensive manufacturing line tailored for the production of semi-transparent photovoltaic modules using silicon solar cells for agrivoltaic applications. Expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, certain equipment will be operational sooner to align with the client’s production schedule.

Furthermore, Brite Solar, based in Greece, is a nanomaterials company with a lot of experience and patented technology in transparent solar glass for ever more demanding applications. Recognized as a leader in the European Agrivoltaics Market, Brite offers a wide range of products tailored to different greenhouse and open-field requirements.

This cutting-edge production line, which is customized to work with a wide range of module designs, will have a 150MW capacity with the plan for future upgrade to 300MW. This is globally the only true Agri-PV specific module manufacturing line since it combines the panel assembly process with coating of the glass panel to achieve higher Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) for the plants under the panel. The nanomaterials and their deposition method are Brite Solar’s patented technology.

Versatility and the possibility of producing different PV panels

A key element of the line is its flexibility to manufacture different module designs with the minimum change time. This flexibility enables Brite Solar to manufacture various modules with diverse transparency, giving them greater flexibility to adapt the modules to the light requirements of the crops under the modules. Transparency in agrivoltaic applications is a key element and this line is capable of producing panels ranging from opaque to 80% transparent. The PV modules incorporate an innovative patented glass with big benefits for the Agrivoltaics Market due to Brite Solar’s nanomaterials coated on the glass.

Agrivoltaics, a sustainable application for the future

Agrivoltaics is the practice of combining agriculture with solar photovoltaic energy generation. This is achieved by installing solar panels on agricultural land, allowing both activities to coexist in the same space. This combination is sure to bring great benefits to agricultural activity, increasing its efficiency while reducing costs. Brite Solar’s modules are the perfect example of this application.

The European Agrivoltaics Market is at an early but promising stage of development. Many projects are being developed in different agricultural sectors such as wine, grain and vegetable production, with increasing investment from farmers and food production companies.

“It is a very interesting project, both in terms of development and applicability of the module. We are honored to be the first to develop a manufacturing line for agrivoltaics panels in Europe (Greece) combining our tools with Brite Solar’s coating materials. We believe that this future application will allow us to make a real difference in the solar sector and to take another step towards a more sustainable world” explains Izaro Aretxaga, Area Sales Manager of the Solar Business.

The implementation of solar parks on water surfaces is already a reality. Agreements between India and Germany allowed the creation of the Technical innovation platform that has developed this project, aimed at taking advantage of aquatic surfaces for the production of renewable photovoltaic energy.

A new report prepared under this Indo-German Technical Cooperation on Innovative Solar provides a comprehensive overview of floating solar potential in India. It also provides projections for installations from 2024 to 2040.

Engineering and innovation have always been a key pillar in the growth and expansion of tools to take advantage of energy resources by humans.

A new report prepared under the Indo-German Technical Cooperation on Innovative Solar (IN Solar) shows that inland bodies of water in India have the technical potential to host 206.7 GWp of floating solar capacity.

Under a moderate scenario, the report said India could install 30 GW of cumulative floating solar capacity from 2024 to 2040. They assumed 1 MW of floating PV would require capital expenditures equalling a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of INR 4.32 ($0.052)/kWh.

The team used GIS-based data for all bodies of water in India (calculated in square kilometers) by referencing the Copernicus Programme by the European Commission.

The research team assumed an annual reduction of 2.5% in capex, resulting in a gradual decline of the LCOE from floating PV plants, starting from 2024 and extending through 2040. The LCOE is expected to drop to INR 3.72/kWh by 2030 and INR 2.90/kWh by 2040.

The data set was filtered to include bodies of water with a usable area greater than 0.015 sq km, with 12 months of water availability, while excluding bodies of water in protected zones. An area of 0.015 sq km is required to install 1 MW of floating PV.

The state of Madhya Pradesh has the maximum potential of 40,117 MWp, followed by Maharashtra with 32,076 MWp.

The project has been launched under the guidance of the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ). Ernst and Young LLP (EY LLP) has led the project, along with CSTEP and Fraunhofer ISE as partners.

Under a moderate scenario, the report said India could install 30 GW of cumulative floating solar capacity from 2024 to 2040. They assumed 1 MW of floating PV would require capital expenditures equalling a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of INR 4.32 ($0.052)/kWh.

The integration of applications and infrastructure to take advantage of natural energy resources, such as photovoltaic energy, is becoming increasingly evident in our daily environment.

A clear example of this is that the Dutch government, through a new open-access PV database, has discovered that approximately 50% of all rooftops in the Netherlands could potentially host PV systems. However, only 8% of them could immediately accommodate solar arrays without the need for obstacle removal.

The Dutch solar market added 4.82 GW of new PV capacity in 2023, according to the “National Solar Trendrapport 2023” study, which was recently published by consultancy Dutch New Energy (DNE) Research.

Around 2.5 GW of last year’s new capacity came from residential installations, up from 2.2 GW in the preceding year. The remaining 2.4 GW came from the commercial, industrial, and large-scale segments.

Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), a state-owned agency in the Netherlands, published an open-access database in December 2023 of all rooftops and parking areas across the country that could be used for solar panel installations.

A few months after its launch, the RVO said the new tool has already helped to identify around 725 km2 of rooftops that could host PV systems. This represents around 50% of the country’s rooftops. Of this surface area, however, only 8% is directly suitable for installing solar panels,” the agency said in a statement. “In other cases, obstacles must first be resolved.”

The RVO said that potential obstacles include skylights, segmented roof shapes, weak roof structures, or the presence of asbestos. The database presents data for all municipalities and regions in which there is available space. It also features a data viewer highlighting obstacles, as well as grid-congestion risks, connection issues, and existing PV systems.

Do you need advice for the best line design according to your needs?

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) plans to deploy at least 50 GW of solar energy in 2024.

Overall, low-emission electricity sources, excluding nuclear, saw a marginal increase from 962 TWh to 972 TWh of generation. The flat growth was due to hydroelectricity falling just over 6%, while wind fell almost 2%. Overall, renewables, which accounted for 1% growth and 2% decline in electricity demand, covered 23% of all generation, setting a new record. Adding nuclear power, 41.1% of all electricity generated came from zero-carbon sources, another all-time high.

One of the reasons for the strong deployment volume growth in 2023 was a recovery from the slowdown in 2022 due to the pandemic and supply chain constraints. The largest price increase occurred in solar modules, whose prices were heavily influenced by a significant increase in polysilicon costs. However, since then, polysilicon prices have fallen dramatically and module prices have remained near all-time lows in recent months.

This research project lasted 38 months and had a total budget of more than €5.8 million. CDTI support in the form of a grant accounted for 70% of the budget and has enabled progress to be made in the knowledge of battery manufacturing processes from the point of view of eco-design, for sustainable assembly and disassembly.

The project has been carried out in consortium with major companies in the sector such as Cegasa, Mondragon Assembly, Itera and TSE. These companies have relied on the most cutting-edge research organisations and technology centres in various technologies related to the project, located mainly in two technology centres, the Valencian Community and the Basque Country.

These organisations are: Technological Institute of Energy (ITE), Technological Institute of Metalworking, Furniture, Wood, Packaging and Related Industries (AIDIMME), Ikerlan, Lortek, Tekniker, Eurecat, Oviedo University Foundation and Inatec Foundation.

Power, Cost and Recyclability

Within the framework of this project, work has been carried out on the complete design of the manufacturing process of a prototype battery for electric vehicles (PHEV) that improves the energy densities, costs and recyclability of the designs currently used in vehicles such as the brand’s own Kuga PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid).

The proliferation of hybrid and electric vehicles in recent years, as well as market trends and car company strategies, suggests that the number of batteries from vehicles is going to be one of the major challenge for the society in the next decade.

The recyclability of components and improving the reusability of these components for a second life are emerging as the challenges that companies in the sector must urgently address as part of their social responsibility. All of this without losing sight of the business objectives of improving battery capacity (and therefore autonomy), and reducing the cost of manufacturing, which is ultimately reflected in the end customer.

Ford has taken on its role in this challenge from Valencia through the INPROBAT project, seeking strategies, technologies and materials that reduce the environmental impact of batteries and being a catalyst for SMEs such as TSE or ITERA to find new market opportunities and sustainable products, and large companies such as CEGASA and MONDRAGON ASSEMBLY to exponentially increase their experience in the manufacture of cells and modules for a sustainable automotive industry.

Results achieved

The objective has been achieved, exceeding initial expectations. To this end, efforts have been focused on different lines of research, such as:

• Researching, designing and testing new materials and composite materials for the manufacture of the different parts that make up the battery pack.
• Researching, designing and validating new optimised manufacturing processes for the different components and new disassembly processes, seeking simplicity, cost savings and maximising the quality of the final product.
• Research on the methodological procedure for the characterisation, analysis and validation of the measurables associated with the project, to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data.
• Research on recycling and reuse technologies in second life, once the automotive life cycle is over.

As a result of these lines of research, it has been possible to design a novel manufacturing process for a battery pack with a substantially lower weight than the reference one, and whose eco-design has allowed improving its power, reducing manufacturing costs and improving the recyclability of the product. It has also been possible to design and validate the safe disassembly process to facilitate its recyclability.

These improvement proposals must now be validated in an industrial manufacturing environment to assess their scalability and possible industrialisation.

In the context of the automotive sector in Spain, moving towards electrification, this project seeks to generate a solid and cutting-edge knowledge base on plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies.

Both the manufacturing plant and the companies and technology centers participating in the project have substantially improved their competencies and know-how to face the coming changes with guarantees and improve their leadership position in this regard.

Consortium Partners:

The news, published by Ford Spain, is taken from its website.

SOLAR MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT

Mondragon Assembly has an extensive worldwide technical team providing a fast and effective service to offer the best service to our customers, reducing down-time and guaranteeing the constant technological evolution and functionality of our equipment.