At present, the primary target material used for HJT (Heterojunction) is ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), but indium is a rare and expensive metal, leading to high costs associated with HJT target material.
Maxwell has introduced three approaches to reduce the consumption of indium. Firstly, they have optimized their equipment. The latest equipment theoretically consumes 13.5mg/W of 100% indium-based target materials per unit, a significant improvement from the previous consumption of nearly 20mg/W. It is projected that the consumption of 100% indium-based target materials per unit will be further reduced to around 12mg/W by the end of 2023.
Secondly, Maxwell has introduced a low-indium laminated film solution. By combining this solution, which is 50% indium-free, with the aforementioned equipment optimization, the theoretical unit consumption of indium-based target materials can be brought down to approximately 6mg/W.
Lastly, the third approach involves large-scale indium recycling. As non-indium-based target materials are becoming more widely used, it is expected that the indium consumption of GW (gigawatt) level HJT cell factories will be reduced to as low as 1mg/W.