TUV Rheinland sets up photovoltaic lab in India

BANGALORE - Global technical services provider TUV Rheinland AG Wednesday unveiled its first photovoltaic (PV) laboratory at Electronics City in this tech hub for PV testing and certification.

Set up by its Indian subsidiary with an upfront investment of $3 million, the high-tech lab is the largest in South Asia and seventh in the TUV group’s global network of solar testing facilities spread across Germany, China, Taiwan, Japan (two) and the US.

“The lab addresses a key challenge faced by the Indian solar/PV industry by providing access to large-scale, world class test facility,” TUV Rheinland chief executive Friedrich Hecker said on the occasion.

The German group has tested products of about 70 percent of all solar module manufacturers worldwide, according to a third party research firm.

“With the government’s ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission being operationalised, India is poised for a leap in solar/PV. Module manufacturing, a key component of the chain, is locally manufactured and offers a great export potential. Our PV lab enables Indian module manufacturers to eye export markets,” Hecker said.

With abundant sunshine and high quality radiation levels, India offers huge potential for overseas players to invest in solar/PV industry for both grid and off-grid applications.

“The Indian PV lab will be interlinked with our other six laboratories and employ about 200 experts across functions. The lab has unique facilities such as climate chambers and sun simulators to reduce the time for testing. The facility is capable of meeting all the testing and certification requirements of the local industry,” TUV Rheinland India managing director Enrico Ruhle said.

The $1.5-billion TÜV Rheinland started laboratory scale testing of solar components in 1995. Its specialists test modules and components, develop new test methods, collaborate on R&D projects for the use of solar energy and assist customers worldwide with the construction of solar power plants.