In this contribution, we present results and the philosophy of our mini-module efforts. These efforts have achieved world record levels as well as a reproducible process. Various mini-module designs are tested using two different baseline Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 deposition recipes. Gridded mini-modules achieve highest efficiencies and are much less demanding on the ZnO:A1 top contact than their conventional counterpart. For all of the designs tested, our experimental results are in the order of the expectations from our modeling. Gridded modules can achieve efficiency levels very close to those of the cells. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.