Stability of inks used for masking metallic interconnects in BIPV modules

The necessity to reduce carbon emissions has pushed European institutions to foster the adoption - for new buildings - of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings, which need to minimize energy consumption with energy generated on site. This opens up an enormous potential for the integration of renewable energy sources in the built environment. However, a massive introduction of PV into buildings should be accompanied by an increased sensitivity in terms of the aesthetic appeal of the modules. Inks masking the metallic interconnects in building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) elements might be an attractive option to produce more aesthetically pleasant modules. In this work, we investigate the stability of three commercial inks (1 solvent based and 2 UV curable) using two common PV configurations (glass-EVA-glass and glassEVA-backsheet). We lay down a testing protocol to screen the stability of inks supplied by different manufacturers using damp heat (DH 85°C, 85%RH) and ultraviolet exposure conditions (UV 65°C, 60 W/m2). Preliminary results show a halo in the surroundings of the coated metallic interconnects for UV curable inks when exposing these samples to direct UV, while no halo is observed when damp heat is performed first and for the solvent-based ink indicating that it is more stable.