An opener configured for accommodating and opening a substrate carrier stack of such a kind which includes a plurality of substrate carriers stacked in a vertical direction such that, for each pair of vertically adjacent substrate carriers of the plurality of substrate carriers, a lower substrate carrier supports an upper substrate carrier, each of the plurality of substrate carriers being provided with a substrate seat to accommodate and carry a substrate, the opener comprising: a housing; and a movement mechanism including a carriage that is configured to support the substrate carrier stack and is movable relative to the housing in the vertical direction, engagement formations (200, 202) supported by the housing, and an actuator (114a; 114b) that interacts with the engagement formations (200, 202); wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the substrate carriers with respect to each other in the vertical direction in an opening operation, such that the substrate carriers are moved from a stacked state, in which the substrate carriers are stacked on each other and define the substrate carrier stack supported within the opener, to an unstacked state, in which the substrate carriers are unstacked in opened positions with vertical distances between the vertically adjacent substrate carriers that enable the substrate seats of the substrate carriers to be accessible from a horizontal direction to unload the substrate from the respective substrate seat and/or load the substrate onto the respective substrate seat; when the substrate carriers are in the unstacked state, the movement mechanism is configured to move the substrate carriers with respect to each other in the vertical direction in a closing operation, such that the substrate carriers are moved from the unstacked state to the stacked state in which the substrate carriers define the substrate carrier stack; in the opening operation, the movement mechanism moves the lower substrate carrier downward in order to vertically distance the lower substrate carrier from the upper substrate carrier of the each pair of vertically adjacent substrate carriers; and in the closing operation, the movement mechanism moves the lower substrate carrier upward in order to move the lower substrate carrier towards the upper substrate carrier of the each pair of vertically adjacent substrate carriers. a housing; and a movement mechanism including a carriage that is configured to support the substrate carrier stack and is movable relative to the housing in the vertical direction, engagement formations (200, 202) supported by the housing, and an actuator (114a; 114b) that interacts with the engagement formations (200, 202); wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the substrate carriers with respect to each other in the vertical direction in an opening operation, such that the substrate carriers are moved from a stacked state, in which the substrate carriers are stacked on each other and define the substrate carrier stack supported within the opener, to an unstacked state, in which the substrate carriers are unstacked in opened positions with vertical distances between the vertically adjacent substrate carriers that enable the substrate seats of the substrate carriers to be accessible from a horizontal direction to unload the substrate from the respective substrate seat and/or load the substrate onto the respective substrate seat; when the substrate carriers are in the unstacked state, the movement mechanism is configured to move the substrate carriers with respect to each other in the vertical direction in a closing operation, such that the substrate carriers are moved from the unstacked state to the stacked state in which the substrate carriers define the substrate carrier stack; in the opening operation, the movement mechanism moves the lower substrate carrier downward in order to vertically distance the lower substrate carrier from the upper substrate carrier of the each pair of vertically adjacent substrate carriers; and in the closing operation, the movement mechanism moves the lower substrate carrier upward in order to move the lower substrate carrier towards the upper substrate carrier of the each pair of vertically adjacent substrate carriers.