EU PVSEC: Heraeus touts breakthrough ‘LECO’ tech increasing cell efficiencies by 0.15%

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Heraeus Photovoltaics has collaborated with German company, Cell Engineering to develop metallization pastes for its ‘LECO’ (Laser Enhanced Contact Optimization) technology that can increase multiple solar cell architectures conversion efficiencies by up to 0.15%. Image: Heraeus

Major PV materials supplier, Heraeus Photovoltaics has collaborated with German company, Cell Engineering to develop metallisation pastes for its ‘LECO’ (Laser Enhanced Contact Optimization) technology that can increase multiple solar cell architectures conversion efficiencies by up to 0.15%.

Heraeus noted that it had developed specific pastes for Cell Engineering’s patented LECO technology that was applicable to several different cell types, including P-type ultra-low doped homogeneous PERC, selective emitter (SE) PERC, N-type PERT and TOPCon.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Martin Ackermann, President of Heraeus Photovoltaics, said, “Our collaboration and partnership with Cell Engineering has produced what we believe is a potential game-changer for solar cell metallisation. It will enable ‘perfect’ metallisation contacts and help customers get even greater performance from their solar cells.”

Hans Jochen von Bomhard, Managing Director Cell Engineering added, “Cell Engineering offers the customer the optimal equipment for the use of LECO pastes. The production spectrum includes a laboratory machine as well as equipment for integration into cell lines”. 
 
Heraeus said it had previously acquired a LECO tool and invented new metallisation paste to take advantage of the new technology. The breakthrough LECO tool and metallisation package is said to be a simple add-in technology that significantly reduces metal-induced recombination while maintaining low contact resistance. As a result, cell efficiencies are increased with minimal impact to production lines.

Heraeus will present its work on LECO-specific paste development at the EU PVSEC 2019 conference, on Thursday, September 12.

17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.
7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

April 17, 2025
ES Foundry has signed a 150MW cell supply deal with what it calls a “leading national community solar developer” in the US.
April 15, 2025
Korean chemical firm OCI Holdings has reportedly paused public listing plans for its Malaysian polysilicon business amid global stock market uncertainty.
April 14, 2025
Bert Thin Films has used a copper paste on a tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) M10 solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 24%.
April 10, 2025
PowerChina has halted a 51GW centralised module procurement tender, the largest in the country’s history, citing new pricing policies.
April 10, 2025
Germany's proposal to allow international carbon credits to reach EU decarbonisation targets “risks undermining the target’s credibility”, according to think tank Agora.
April 10, 2025
Concerns over the performance of TOPCon solar cells following UV exposure may be exaggerated, according to research by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
April 23, 2025
Fortaleza, Brazil
Solar Media Events
April 29, 2025
Dallas, Texas
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
May 7, 2025
Munich, Germany
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA