By Eric Swedlund
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

Photovoltaic panels from manufacturers around the globe are baked, frozen and pelted with hail at a Tempe facility that in the past year has spun out from an isolated ASU lab into the world's largest solar testing and certification plant.

The facility is a collaborative venture between Arizona State University, which developed a reputation for its Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory, and TÜV Rheinland, a multi-billion dollar German company specializing in certification and testing services for the energy, medical and automotive sectors.

The resulting private company, TUV Rheinland PTL, LLC, is described by both parties as the "most comprehensive, sophisticated, state-of-the-art facility for testing and certification of solar energy equipment in the world."

"Basically what happened in 2006 and 2007, the industry was growing very, very fast and our space at ASU was not sufficient to cope with the industry growth," said Govindasamy Tamizhmani, who went from director of the ASU lab to president of TUV-PTL.

In its current 40,000-square-foot plant at Roosevelt Street and Broadway Road for nearly a year, the testing facility replaces ASU's 5,000-square-foot lab, which began operating in 1992 under contract with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and has long been the only U.S. facility of its kind.

Since its first major expansion in 1997, the lab has issued more than 250 qualification certificates, tested more than 2,500 solar panels for 150 companies in 18 countries.

"The lab that existed within the university was the most technologically capable lab functioning in the United States. It was a really nice fit," said Richard Bozicevich, who moved from TUV-Rheinland to become vice president for business development at TUV-PTL. "We surveyed the market and looked at who was doing what and realized very quickly that the guys at ASU were very far ahead of the rest of the field."

Bozicevich wouldn't discuss revenue figures specifically for TUV-PTL, but said it is one of five TUV Rheinland solar testing facilities around the globe, which generate about $30 million annually and control nearly 70 percent of the testing and certification market. The plant has about 20 full-time employees, plus another 30 part-time student workers.

The plant serves more than 100 manufacturing clients and currently tests about 1,000 solar panels at any given time. During the roughly four months of testing, the panels face extreme heat, cold and humidity and simulated weather conditions to ensure they meet regulatory requirements and quality and performance standards. Arizona Public Service provides 5 acres of outdoor space to conduct endurance testing.

"When it comes to testing, we basically simulate weather conditions of Arizona, Alaska, Florida, tropical conditions, wind conditions," Bozicevich said. "We stress the solar panels in chambers for these different climate conditions, so the consumers can have the confidence that they do last long in the field."

TUV-PTL is the first ASU spin-off related to photovoltaic panel testing and certification and the lab's track record positioned it perfectly to take advantage of rapid growth in the solar energy sector, said Charlie Lewis, vice president of venture development for Arizona Science and Technology Enterprises, which handles technology transfer for ASU.

"There were some very clear compatibilities between the two entities. ASU-PTL had been operating for 20 years or so and this was long before the emergence of the whole clean tech sector and the emphasis on solar energy and all the things that happened as a result of oil spiking to $140 a barrel," Lewis said.

"Even though it was just a small lab operating within the borders of a university, they still developed a very impressive resume of clients from around the world."

Lewis said the negotiations were aided by the ASU lab's reputation for customer service and rapid turnaround for the testing.

"As more companies get into trying to be certifiers and testers of these panels, those are the things that differentiate from the pack, when you can get quick turnaround on the work and delivering on a timeline that meets or exceeds customer's expectations," he said.

The ASU-TUV Rheinland partnership is encouraging in its demonstration that Arizona's economy is transitioning to a more high-tech base and taking advantage of its natural strengths, Lewis said. The facility is expected to help attract new solar energy manufacturers and other entrepreneurs to the state as a cornerstone of Arizona's solar energy industry.

The facility is operating at about 60 percent of its capacity and Tamizhmani said the lab is already expanding to test solar-thermal systems as well as the components of solar panels. In recognition of a successful first year, the company was named a finalist in the Arizona Technology Council's 2009 Governor's Celebration of Innovation awards, in the Innovator of the Year – Start-Up Company category.

"The year 2010 will be a much greater year for PTL because of our expansion to other non-panel areas of the photovoltaic industry," he said.

This year's global energy summit in Copenhagen clearly indicates how important solar energy solutions are becoming and regardless of any specific outcomes, the trends favor TUV-PTL, Bozicevich said.

"We're poised for a significant build out in the southwestern USA in solar technologies overall," he said