Catching the Sun
Jacky (43) has been with DEKRA since 2019, but his experience in the photovoltaics field dates back to 2005 when the young engineer first delved into the subject. He joined DEKRA with the mission of preparing the company to venture into the field of testing renewable energy technologies in China.
In September 2022, the Baoshan laboratory in Shanghai was inaugurated, marking a significant milestone in Jacky's career. Looking back with pride, he reflects on the accomplishments he and his team have achieved: "My role was to introduce DEKRA's services to the market. We started from scratch, and over the past four years, we have made remarkable progress." The team, currently comprised of approximately 20 colleagues, includes six salespeople, four project engineers, various technicians, and five experts specializing in testing solar modules and components, operating within a spacious area of 2,600 square meters.
The testing procedures adhere to specific standards. Jacky acknowledges that the foremost challenge in entering the market was obtaining accreditations, such as CNAS, which is the accreditation required to operate a product test laboratory in China. He recalls, "We received this accreditation in 2020, but the Covid pandemic created increasingly challenging circumstances for running the laboratory effectively." CBTL certification was another crucial milestone to attain, as it is necessary for testing photovoltaic modules intended for international installation. Jacky explains, "We couldn't secure this accreditation until the end of 2022, as the lockdown prevented us from conducting tests or receiving auditors' visits for a span of six to seven months. Personal presence of auditors is a mandatory requirement during the certification process."
Tests along the entire solar value chain
“We mainly test the increasingly common so-called Crystalline Silicon Modules with edge lengths over 2.3 meters. Global top ten largest manu-facturers, including Jinko Solar, LONGi Solar or Risen Solar, are already our customers. We advise them and we are also increasingly testing the products according to all the necessary criteria,“ Jacky reveals.
A typical test cycle consists of a high-temperature and humidity test, in which the panels must withstand a heat of 85 degrees Celsius and 85 percent humidity over a period of 1,000 hours. “This is tested in a purpose-built climate chamber that is about 2.6 meters high,“ says Jacky. Then it‘s a matter of the resilience to temperature fluctuations – thermal cycling test. The test cycle runs between–40 and 85 degrees Celsius – without humidity for a total of 1,200 hours. Another similar test we call humidity freeze test, which the humidity be added. Here, too, temperatures between –40 and 85 degrees Celsius have to be mastered, but with frost in the low temperature range, 240 hours are scheduled here. “And all of this is so that manufacturers can prove that their modules will last 25 years,“ Jacky says. UV aging tests, static and dynamic mechanical load tests complete the options in the DEKRA laboratory. The latest equipment is available for this purpose, such as a Class A+ A+ A+ pulsed sun simulator, climate chambers and a UV test room.
China as market leader
“We mainly test the increasingly common so-called Crystalline Silicon Modules with edge lengths over 2.3 meters. Global top ten largest manu-facturers, including Jinko Solar, LONGi Solar or Risen Solar, are already our customers. We advise them and we are also increasingly testing the products according to all the necessary criteria,“ Jacky reveals. A typical test cycle consists of a high-temperature and humidity test, in which the panels must withstand a heat of 85 degrees Celsius and 85 percent humidity over a period of 1,000 hours. “This is tested in a purpose-built climate chamber that is about 2.6 meters high,“ says Jacky.Then it‘s a matter of the resilience to temperature fluctuations – thermal cycling test. The test cycle runs between–40 and 85 degrees Celsius – without humidity for a total of 1,200 hours. Another similar test we call humidity freeze test, which the humidity be added. Here, too, temperatures between –40 and 85 degrees Celsius have to be mastered, but with frost in the low temperature range, 240 hours are scheduled here. “And all of this is so that manufacturers can prove that their modules will last 25 years,“ Jacky says. UV aging tests, static and dynamic mechanical load tests complete the options in the DEKRA laboratory. The latest equipment is available for this purpose, such as a Class A+ A+ A+ pulsed sun simulator, climate chambers and a UV test room. problems that photovoltaics bring, such as capacity fluctuations between full sun-shine and rainy days. “The government is trying to counteract this, and there is now a requirement to install buffer storage in every new plant.“
The boom in photovoltaics will continue for a long time.
Jacky Bai, laboratory manager
The future of renewable energy
Because “carbon neutrality is one of the most important tasks that history has given us,“ DEKRA can benefit from it, Jacky says. For example, with hydrogen services. LONGi Solar has already suc-cessfully tested the combination of solar energy and green hydrogen, he said. “That is also the reason why my team and I are already working intensively on green hydrogen and why we will no longer call ourselves just ‘Solar Team’ in the future, but ‘Renewable Energy Team’, he says.
Ambitiously, this team is going to work to grab more market share and make DEKRA a name in testing and certification. Jacky: “We have a saying for this in Chinese: ‘We come from behind, but we catch up all the faster!’“