Calyxo / TS Solar GmbH
TS Solar GmbH was one of the leading German manufacturers of highly innovative cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar modules and a provider of turnkey system solutions. Since the acquisition of Calyxo GmbH by the TS Group in 2018 at the "Solar Valley" site in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, the company has been in continuous production and employed 110 people.Calyxo Solar, operated by TS Solar GmbH, was a prominent German manufacturer of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar modules and specialized in turnkey system solutions. Following the acquisition of Calyxo GmbH by the TS Group in 2018, the production facility was located in the renowned "Solar Valley" in Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Calyxo Solar was characterized by continuous production and a team of 110 dedicated employees. As an innovative player in the field of solar energy, TS Solar GmbH made a significant contribution to the development and dissemination of advanced solar technologies.
Calyxo: A look back at the pioneer of thin-film solar technology
Calyxo, founded in 2005, was a pioneer in the production of thin-film solar modules based on cadmium telluride. Since 2007, Calyxo has been part of the US company Solar Fields, which has continuously developed this technology and held the exclusive global license for the highly innovative coating technology.
Calyxo started in Solar Valley Bitterfeld-Wolfen with a pilot line that had a production capacity of 8 MWp. This was expanded to 25 MWp in 2008 and to 85 MWp by the end of 2012 with the second industrial production line. After the closure of the First Solar site in Frankfurt (Oder), Calyxo GmbH was the only major manufacturer of cadmium telluride technology modules in Europe.
Calyxo Solar's thin-film modules are characterized by their innovative strength, environmental friendliness and cost efficiency. In 2012, the solar experts in Wolfen achieved a cell efficiency of 16.2%, which was an absolute record in CdTe technology. This value was confirmed by the SGS Germany test center. Calyxo Solar set itself the goal of exploiting the positive properties of the thin-film modules, particularly in hot and humid climatic conditions, as the future markets were mainly outside Europe. Thanks to their high reliability, the thin-film modules were also a guarantee for good yields in Germany.
The published data showed that the unique lamination technology used for Calyxo products not only increased resistance and stability. In the medium term, Calyxo expected to be able to reduce production costs to below 0.50 US dollars per watt peak. This would make Calyxo one of the most cost-effective manufacturers in the world - while consistently maintaining its production location in Germany. With these low production costs, PV systems would supply their operators with a kilowatt hour of solar power for less than 10 US cents.
CdTe production was particularly advantageous from an ecological point of view. The use of cadmium telluride eliminated the need for costly final disposal of the raw material, which was only a waste product in the mining industry. In CdTe technology, the cadmium was refined with tellurium to create a semiconductor that no longer dissolved in water. Instead of polluting the environment, this element reliably produced solar power in Calyxo Solar's sealed modules for decades. One cubic meter of cadmium telluride produced 330,000 Calyxo solar modules, which generated 520 GWh of solar power during their product life cycle.
The Aachen-based TS Group took over Calyxo's entire business operations, including production and all patents. The new owner transferred the business operations to the new company TS Solar GmbH, which from then on further developed, produced and marketed the Calyxo brand solar modules. TS Group's aim was to build on Calyxo's previous research success in order to return to profitability as quickly as possible.
