Malek Benmansour

Background

About Malek Benmansour

With a Ph.D. in Process Engineering, I have held various roles in innovation and R&D. My career began as a lecturer at Paris VI University, followed by a position as a research engineer at CEA. At CEA, I progressed from from Project Manager to Laboratory Manager, developing extensive expertise in applied research management, with a focus on photovoltaic materials and process engineering. Between 2014 and 2020, I led a laboratory focused on the industrialization of silicon crystallization equipment known as the Quasi-Mono. In 2019, we partnered with an equipment supplier to develop a growth furnace capable of producing silicon ingots weighing 1200 kg. These furnaces have since been implemented in production by leading companies in the photovoltaic industry. Since 2020, I have been managing a laboratory dedicated to developing tandem photovoltaic cells with an efficiency target close to 30%. In July 2024, we achieved an efficiency of 29.8% on a 25 cm² prototype, paving the way for industrial-scale pilot production.