Accelerated Stress Testing of 60-Cell PERC Modules with Carbon-Nanotube-Reinforced Composite Gridlines

The risk of cell cracks continues to be an issue for photovoltaic systems worldwide. Damage caused by extreme weather and mishandling during transportation and installation can lead to underperforming panels and eventual power degradation to the system. To address cell-crack-induced degradation directly, we have formulated a carbon nanotube additive for commercial screen-printable silver pastes. This work highlights the beginning-of-life increase in module power, efficiency, and fill factor by adding carbon nanotubes to commercial silver paste. We conclude this work by applying digital image correlation to quantify the movement of cell fragments and full-sized module certification via a modified IEC 63209 accelerated stress test, which demonstrates that the CNT-reinforced gridlines significantly reduce cell cracks.