A technology too good
to keep to ourselves

CTF Solar founder Dr. Michael Harr and his team built the world’s first thin film CdTe production facility in the 1990s. Now, CdTe is gaining momentum — thanks to its high efficiency, low capital expenditure, and low production cost per Wp. That translates to higher returns on your solar power plant investment and a fast track to break-even.

Furthermore, with a payback time of less than a year, CdTe modules have the lowest energy payback time of all PV modules. On a life cycle basis, CdTe PV furthermore has the smallest carbon footprint of all other solar technologies.

CTF Solar CdTe solar module factory in Chengdu, China

The first CdTe factory with a standard capacity of 100 MW came into existence in Chengdu, in the Chinese province Sichuan.

The fully-automated factory in Chengdu has a production line with a length of 750 m, a cycle time of less than 1 minute and a 24/7/52 operating schedule. The factory’s equipment is mainly made in Europe and complemented by a number of Chinese components. From the factory’s layout and the selection of the equipment from leading European and Chinese manufacturers, to the precision design and integration of all components and processes – CTF Solar delivers high quality and the most advanced technology, putting the results of its extensive research and development work into effective practice.

Thanks to its expertise in the field of CdTe technology development and factory engineering and its proven implementation process, which has been specifically designed with a view to achieving high cost efficiency, CTF Solar is able to guarantee low operating cost structures, low investment and low risk. In view of the fact that CdTe technologies are furthermore far from having reached their maximum potential, there is yet further potential for reducing this technology’s cost in the future.

  • fully-automated factory
  • 24/7/52 operating schedule
  • 1200 x 1600 x 7 mm modules
  • low carbon footprint
  • emission-free design

Commission your own CdTe module facility from CTF Solar

CdTe is an exceptional technology to invest in today, with projected efficiencies expected to soon rival silicon modules, but at far lower capital and production costs. CTF Solar designs and constructs CdTe solar module production facilities including factory buildings, production lines, and all the necessary equipment and services.

  • 100-300 MWp production output
  • CdTe module efficiency roadmap: up to 25 %
  • target production costs: € 0.13 / Wp