New Product Development Model for Solar Cells

Abstract:

Global warming is a major reason for dramatic climate changes around the world. Among various renewable energy sources, solar energy is one of the most promising for environmental protection and natural resource scarcity resolution. With the technical advantages obtained from the semiconductor and TFT-LCD industries, the Photovoltaic (PV) industry in Taiwan can achieve a solid global position. Current PV products, however, still face a large obstacle due to high production cost and low PV conversion efficiency. An important source of competitive advantage, survival and renewal for firms in todays competitive market is successful new product development (NPD). PV firms need to carry out effective R&D in order to improve product quality and to obtain cost effectiveness. This research, thus, constructs a comprehensive model, which comprises fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) and quality function deployment (QFD), for implementing a NPD project for a PV manufacturer. The proposed model shall help designers to systematically consider relevant NPD information and reconcile tradeoffs among various performance characteristics in a fuzzy environment.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 543-547)
• Pages: 737-740
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.543-547.737
• Online since: March 2014
• Authors: Amy H.I. Lee*, Tzu Ning Liu, Jian Shun Chen, Chun Yu Lin
• Keywords: Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), New Product Development, Photovoltaic (PV), Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Solar Cell

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