LDK, Applied Materials in equipment contract

Xinyu, China-based LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) announced today that Santa Clara, Calif.'s Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) will supply precision wafering systems to support LDK's expansion plans.

Under the $220 million contract, Applied Materials, the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment, is scheduled to start shipping the systems to LDK's facility in Xinyu in early 2009. LDK previously announced its plans to expand its annual wafer capacity to 3.2 gigawatts in 2010.

Applied Materials called today's deal a milestone agreement, saying it's the largest contract ever awarded for wafering systems.

"We believe that Applied's state-of-the-art wafering systems, including its HCT wire saws and squarers, are the best choice to help us scale up capacity to meet the expanding global demand for wafers," said Xiaofeng Peng, chairman and CEO of LDK.

"We have used HCT wire saws since the beginning of our manufacturing operations in 2006, and they have continued to demonstrate the performance necessary to deliver high-quality, cost-effective wafers to our customers."

In April, LDK said it would issue $300 million in convertible notes to help fund the construction of a polysilicon manufacturing plant and a capacity expansion of its wafer production facilities (see LDK raising cash after SEC drops investigation).

That move came a day after the solar wafer maker was informed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the agency would not recommend action against the company. Last October, LDK disclosed that it was being questioned by the SEC over allegations that it overstated its polysilicon inventories.

Cleantech developments making news in the past 24 hours

• Qteros claims 15-fold improvements in cellulosic ethanol yield
• Solairedirect raises €20M to move into commercial solar
• Intel, Numonyx open $20M water treatment plant in Israel
• Booming data-center business creates troubles for India

View the last week of cleantech developments here | Subscribe to full feed