The market for solar modules is highly competitive. For this
reason, companies must save on costs, such as by using a new process. It embeds
the cells twice as fast into their protective plastic sheathing – and therefore
saves time and money.
Solar cells must endure a lot: snow, hot summer days, rain
and humidity. To provide maximum protection to the cells, the manufacturers
embed them in plastic, usually in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The principle is
that they laminate the cells in the first step. For this, they encase the cells
in a plastic film and heat it up. Once the plastic is soft, the entire stack is
pressed together in the laminator so that it flows well around the cells and
encases them. This process vulcanizes the plastic – in other words, it
crosslinks it (meaning that a type of rubber is created).