Heraeus Photovoltaics Establishes Regional Product Modification Lab in Japan

Heraeus Photovoltaics, the worldwide leading supplier of metallization solutions to the PV industry, today announced the launch of a regional Product Modification Lab (PML) in Tokyo. This move strengthens the existing framework of Heraeus’ regional research and development centers. By expanding product modification capabilities in Japan, Heraeus will solidify its strong commitment to the Japanese PV market and will be able to more efficiently manage customer requirements.

Japan represents an important market for Heraeus Photovoltaics. It represents over 8% of the worldwide supply of solar cell manufacturing and 18% of global PV installation. As markets in Asia continue to grow and Heraeus customers’ technologies evolve rapidly, the network of regional product innovation abilities is a cornerstone for the company to further explore the photovoltaic markets. “Our regional PML reinforces our strong commitment to Japan as high technology market, adding to our strength as reliable supplier of high quality products,” states Dr. Weiming Zhang, Senior Vice President Innovation, HeraeusPhotovoltaics.

Another factor in this investment is to encourage customer collaboration and accelerate R&D innovation in key regions. Dr. Zhang added, ”By  establishing our PMLs close to the markets, we are able to understand changes in our customers’ needs constantly and provide them with superior products in shortest response time.” As part of this distributed approach, all Product Modification Labs work closely with the Heraeus  Photovoltaic global R&D Center in the U.S.A. to ensure that the customer requirements are reflected in the development of products with highest efficiency and reliability.

Japan marks the third Heraeus regional PML to open in Asia in the last  12 months. It complements the installation of two regional PML’s, one in
Shanghai, one in Taiwan, in early 2015.