Heraeus_GB15_Magazin_EN_RZ_29_04_lowRes

10 D r. Weiming Zhang has been with Heraeus for more than 17 years, and has now taken on a new role as sales head at Heraeus Photo- voltaics (HPT). A Chinese native, Dr. Weiming Zhang earned his PhD in Ceramic Engineering from University of Missouri-Rolla (U.S.) in 1997. He joined Heraeus after completing his post-doctoral studies in 1999, and has remained with the company, his first and only employer, in Research & Development (R&D) ever since. Global energy demand is on the rise – and will increase by more than 20 to 30 percent per year by 2030. According to a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA), wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy, biomass, and water power will cover about 30 percent of global energy consumption by 2030. The global Paris Climate Confer- ence at the end of November 2015 once more showed that renewable energies will play a key role if the growing energy demands of the world’s population are to be met in a sustainable and ecofriendly way. The climate goal agreed upon by all 195 participating nations: Limit the rise in the global average temperature to 1.5 to 2°C. This requires almost completely avoiding energy generation from fossil sources – that is, switching over to technologies that do not emit CO2. This means that photovoltaics will play a decisive role in the energy mix of the future. “A father of silver pastes” Heraeus has long focused on renewable energies, especially in the field of photovoltaics. The company doesn’t produce the final solar cells made of silicon, but it does produce one of the most important components – silver metallization pastes. The silver pastes are used to pro- duce very fine, highly conductive contact lines on the indigo colored solar cells. These supply the electrical contacts for the wafer and contribute to improving the efficiency of silicon solar cells. At Heraeus, Dr. Zhang is known as one of the fathers of PV silver pastes. Together with his colleagues, he invented Heraeus’ first conductive silver paste for solar cells from scratch around 2006, and commercialized the new product, laying the foundation for the business unit today. In the past decade, thanks to the contributions by him and his team, the Heraeus PV business has taken on an important role in the market. It has generated consid- erable sales and EBIT, although it has also experienced ups and downs in recent years. For his contributions to the development of silver conductive pastes for the photovoltaics markets, Dr. Zhang received the Medal of Honor from the Heraeus Group Management Board in 2011. He remains the only person at Heraeus to have received this special award. Dr. Zhang took on an unusual role in 2015. In addition to his existing responsibilities, he took on the new task of leading HPT’s global sales. “The appointment sur- prised me somewhat. However, I was happy to accept it, »Only by transforming our role can we shape the market and lead the industry.«

Pages Overview