CPQD and LONGi Collaboration Elevates Focus on Photovoltaic Generation Equipment Quality and Safety

CPQD, one of Latin America’s leading research and development centers, has formed a strategic partnership with LONGi, a global solar technology leader active in over 150 countries, with a focus on driving innovation and advancing technology in Brazil. The collaboration aims to enhance CPQD’s certification capabilities and elevate the quality and safety standards for photovoltaic (PV) generation equipment in the country.

As part of this initiative, LONGi provided CPQD with reference samples—known as “golden samples”—from select solar panel models featuring cutting-edge technologies. These samples were used to evaluate and calibrate the testing equipment in CPQD’s labs. “Golden samples represent the ideal quality or performance of a product. Because they have known electrical properties and serve as benchmarks in their category, these samples are used to fine-tune testing equipment, ensuring precision and reliability in certification testing,” explains George Wu, Head of Marketing and Solutions for Latin America at LONGi.

In Brazil, photovoltaic modules and inverters used in solar power systems must undergo mandatory certification as stipulated by INMETRO’s (National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology) Ordinance 004/2011. Since 2009, CPQD has been recognized by INMETRO as a certification body for standalone inverters, charge and discharge controllers, and batteries. In 2019, this scope expanded to include grid-connected inverters and photovoltaic modules. By utilizing the reference samples provided by LONGi, CPQD improves the reliability of product testing for the most advanced solar technologies available today, including Mono PERC, HPBC, and HPDC.

“This partnership marks an important step in enhancing the testing capabilities for PV equipment in Brazil,” said Reginaldo Matias Ribeiro, Manager of Energy, Networks, Metrology, and Field Services Laboratories at CPQD. “By verifying our equipment with golden samples, we’ve been able to further boost confidence in the results generated in our lab, validating the quality of our processes and tests. This is crucial for manufacturers who need to demonstrate the quality and performance of their products,” adds Ribeiro.