EMPOWER

About the project

EMPOWER develops alternative equipment and processes across the photovoltaic (PV) value chain, from silicon wafers to finished modules. The goal is to reduce capital and operating costs and so lower the cost of solar electricity in Europe. The project also aims for higher throughput and yield, and for lower energy and raw-material use.

The work covers direct wafering, metallisation with less silver, edge passivation, and fast interconnection and lamination. It also includes digitalisation with Industry 4.0 methods, including a virtual, vertically integrated PV production line.

Key facts
Programme	Horizon Europe, Innovation Action (grant agreement 101172767)
Duration	December 2024 – May 2028
Budget	€14.6 million (EU contribution €12.0 million)
Coordinator	Institutt for Energiteknikk (IFE), Norway
Consortium	18 partners, including Fraunhofer, Forschungszentrum Jülich, CEA and Flanders Make

My contributions

I develop AI-assisted tools for visual quality inspection of PV modules:

• A web-based annotation platform that makes labelling inspection images faster and more consistent, designed together with its users and adopted across several use cases.
• Integration with industrial imaging set-ups in collaboration with other teams.
• Data analysis that turns inspection results into actionable insights for project partners.

Dissemination: Accelerating EL Defect Annotation in PV Modules via a Web-Based, AI-Assisted Workflow, presented at the 43rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC).

Technologies: computer vision, AI-assisted labelling, electroluminescence (EL) imaging, web development.