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October 13, 2008
Albuquerque,
NM, USA: Advent Solar Signs Polysilicon Wafer Agreement with Deutsche
Solar AG
Advent
Solar, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative solar cells
and modules, today announced an agreement with Deutsche Solar
AG, a subsidiary of SolarWorld AG and one of the largest global
producers of mono- and multi-crystalline silicon wafers for the
photovoltaic industry.
Under
the agreement, Deutsche Solar will provide Advent Solar with its
SOLSIX® wafers through 2018 with a total value of more than
$350M. This steady silicon wafer supply will enable Advent Solar’s
rapid business expansion through the introduction and delivery
of next-generation solar modules based on its Venturaä Technology,
the solar industry’s first comprehensive cell-to-module solar
architecture.
“Advent
Solar® Ventura™ Technology is designed to increase efficiencies
at every stage of development, from cell design to manufacturing
and production, and wafers are a critical component of this approach,”
said Peter Green, president and chief executive officer of Advent
Solar. “Advent Solar is excited about SolarWorld’s SOLSIX
wafers and their proven ability to obtain top values during cell
manufacturing. Our agreement with Deutsche Solar significantly
increases Advent Solar’s secured wafers and will allow us
to quickly begin offering modules based on Ventura Solar Technology.”
SolarWorld’s
subsidiary Deutsche Solar has served the solar industry since
1994 and is one of the most established manufacturers of solar
wafers. Deutsche Solar is known as a reliable supplier of high-quality
wafers, securing its silicon by a three-pronged strategy of purchasing
from established players, manufacturing within the SolarWorld
Group using a proprietary technology and using a recycling process
based on its own developments. The SolarWorld SOLSIXwafers are
made in Germany in a location with more than 50 years of manufacturing
experience in the field of crystalline silicon using processes
which are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Peter
Woditsch, chief executive officer of Deutsche Solar explained,
“Advent Solar is one of the technology-pioneers in PV. Deutsche
Solar is excited to apply our industry-leading silicon wafers
to the Advent Solar Ventura Technology and is committed to the
mission of delivering innovative solar solutions that bring the
industry closer to grid parity.”
Advent
Solar will use silicon wafers supplied by Deutsche Solar to begin
developing products based on its Ventura Solar Technology. Advent
Solar Ventura Technology provides a system-level design approach
by combining Emitter-Wrap Through (EWT) back-contact cells with
semiconductor device manufacturing methods to create a highly
scalable platform for module manufacturing. Ventura Solar Technology
also enables Advent Solar to reduce silicon thickness by minimizing
the handling of cells during the manufacturing process. The fully
automated, soft-handling manufacturing flow can accommodate silicon
wafers that are much thinner than conventional assembly methods,
providing scalability for silicon cost reductions and higher yields.
“The
SOLSIX wafers have shown excellent results during initial testing
with our high-performance solar modules,” said Martin Hermann,
Advent Solar’s chief strategy officer, who is responsible
for the company’s sourcing strategy. “SolarWorld and
its subsidiary Deutsche Solar have a solid reputation for consistently
supplying quality silicon wafers, which made them an ideal sourcing
candidate for Advent Solar.”
Ventura
Technology enables Advent Solar to develop solar cells and modules
that deliver high-energy output by optimizing silicon light capture,
and dramatically improving cell and module-level connectivity
to minimize resistive losses. The architecture provides higher
cell-to-module efficiency, while using thinner silicon wafers
to reduce costs.
Further
details about: Advent Solar
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