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Companies first major order secured for thin-film solar module production in Taiwan
Oerlikon Solar has announced that it has signed a contract with Taiwan's CMC Magnetics Corp. (CMC) for the supply of a 40-MWp thin-film solar cell production plant.
Oerlikon Solar has announced that it has signed a contract with Taiwan's CMC Magnetics Corp. (CMC) for the supply of a 40-MWp thin-film solar cell production plant. This deal marks Oerlikon Solar's first major order in Asia-Pacific. The first components will be shipped to CMC this year and production is planned for mid-2008. "With this major order, Oerlikon Solar becomes one of the world's first companies to supply a customer with a fully automated production line for thin-film solar modules with integrated test systems," said Dr. Uwe Krüger, CEO of Oerlikon. "This is only the beginning. As more and more companies adopt this much-needed technology, Oerlikon Solar will play a vital part in the surge by supporting customers' needs and providing them with advanced, cost-effective equipment."The modern Oerlikon Solar high-tech production line enables the manufacture of silicon thin-film modules at an expected annual output of approximately 40 MWp. The turnkey end-to-end plant embraces the entire production process from glass purification to testing of the finished solar modules. Also included in the CMC contract is a service package for commissioning the process equipment and for getting production up to speed. A new feature of the supply deal with CMC is implementation of the entire metrology system for quality control, the "back end" of module production as well as the recently released proprietary TCO technology. The TCO layers play a central role in thin-film solar modules of silicon by creating exceptional electrical conductivity in order to transport the solar electricity with as little resistance as possible, and by trapping the light in the film and passing it through the photoactive silicon layer. Ultimately, these factors determine the performance of the solar modules and directly reduce the cost per watt peak. Until now, there has been no supplier of a TCO plant on the global market. The contract with CMC also includes the option to upgrade capacity and migrate to Oerlikon´s next technology generation of Micromoph Tandem."Oerlikon Solar plays a pivotal role in thin-film solar technology and, at present, is one of the only suppliers of mature production plants for thin-film solar modules," said Bob Wang, chairman of CMC. " Which was one of the deciding factors in our selection"
