Energetica India Magazine

was unmistakable, alongside early industrialisation work on perovskite tandems. Equally significant was the strategic messaging: the industry is consciously moving away from destructive price wars towards value-led competition built on quality, reliability and integrated energy solutions. For Indian manufacturers, these developments are direct- ly relevant for two reasons. First, most Indian capacity is new or under construction – which means we have a genuine leapfrog opportunity to build smart factories from day one, rather than retrofitting digital capability onto legacy lines as many established players elsewhere must do. Second, as Indian modules increasingly target export markets with de- manding bankability, traceability and quality requirements, the inspection rigour and process consistency demonstrat- ed at SNEC represent the benchmark we will be measured against. Adopting these technologies is not about imitation; it is about competing on equal terms. Q In India, the industry’s focus is gradually shifting from adding scale to improving efficiency, quality and reliabil - ity. Why has smart manufacturing become a necessity rather than an option for solar manufacturers? Samir Mehta: The economics of this industry have changed fundamentally. When module prices were comfortable and demand outstripped domestic supply, a manufacturer could survive with average yields and manual quality control. To- day, with intense competition, thin margins and buyers who scrutinise every certificate, the difference between a profit - able plant and a struggling one lies in a few percentage points of yield and a few paise per watt of conversion cost. Those margins can only be captured through smart manufacturing. There are three structural reasons why it has become a ne- cessity. First, product complexity: modern TOPCon cells and large-format modules with thinner wafers, finer busbar geometries and higher power ratings leave very little toler- ance for process variation – human inspection simply can- not keep pace with cycle times measured in fractions of a second. Second, accountability: modules carry 25–30 year performance warranties, and a quality escape discovered in the field costs orders of magnitude more than one caught inline. Institutional buyers, lenders and insurers now expect full digital traceability from wafer lot to installed module. Third, consistency: export markets and quality-conscious domestic IPPs will not accept batch-to-batch variability, and only automated, recipe-controlled production can deliv- er that uniformity. Q For a company looking to set up a fully automated solar manufacturing facility today, what are the key equip - ment and automation systems required across the value chain? Samir Mehta: A fully automated facility should be designed as an integrated system rather than a collection of machines. On a modern module line, the core equipment chain com- prises automated glass loading and inspection, high-speed multi-busbar or SMBB stringers with integrated infrared or induction soldering and inline EL inspection, automat- ic layup and bussing stations, automated encapsulant and backsheet cutting and placement, laminators with precise multi-zone thermal control, robotic trimming, framing and junction-box mounting with automated potting and curing, and an end-of-line cluster of sun simulator, EL test, hi-pot and insulation testing, visual AI inspection, and automat- ed sorting, labelling and palletising. Cell-to-module material flow should be handled by conveyors, robots and AGVs, with automated buffers between process stages to decouple equip- ment stoppages. For manufacturers integrating upstream, the cell line adds its own automation-intensive equipment set – wafer inspection and sorting, texturing, diffusion or boron emitter formation, LPCVD/PECVD deposition for TOPCon layers, high-preci- sion screen printing with inline AOI, firing, light-induced re - generation, and cell testing and sorting – while ingot and wa- INTERVIEW energetica INDIA- Jul-Aug_2026 23