Q-Cells fond of CIGS

Q-Cells (FRANKFURT: QCE) is investing in yet another new photovoltaic technology to safeguard its leadership in solar cells.

Q-Cells is joining forces with Solibro AB from Uppsala, Sweden, to set up a joint venture under the name of Solibro GmbH, in which Q-Cells will hold a share of 67.5%.

Solibro GmbH will commercialize the copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS) thin-film technology developed in Sweden by Solibro. The two companies plan to build an initial factory in Thalheim, Germany, where Q-Cells is located, which officials expect to have an annual production capacity of 25 to 30 MWp.

Q-Cells will initially pay Solibro EUR 4 million for its 67.5% share and EUR 20 million against the achievement of technological milestones. The parties involved are expected to take a decision on the construction of the first production site in Thalheim by mid 2007. Q-Cells plans to invest EUR 60 million in this first stage of expansion.

Company spokesperson Stefan Dietrich said Q-Cells is diversifying for three reasons. "First, we believe that the PV industry needs all available technologies to meet the growing demand. We also think that new technologies will contribute to cost reduction. Finally, because nobody can say for sure which technology will prevail, we invest in all the different technologies that we see as promising."

"Q-Cells is probably the leader in terms of spreading its technology risk around," said Jeff Osborne, alternative energy research director for CIBC World Markets. "They've got their relationships with Evergreen and others. They did a concentrator investment a few weeks ago. That's what I admire about the company."

The company's joint venture with Evergreen Solar, which resulted in new polysilicon cell manufacturer EverQ - also based in Thalheim - was announced with fanfare in 2005. EverQ has ramped up to provide an annual production capacity of 30 MWp (Megawatt peak) of wafers, solar cells and solar modules, and the company just started construction of a second, larger production line with a production capacity of another 50 MWp.

Other Q-Cell investments have been lower in profile. Its now-subsidiary Brilliant 234 is constructing a first pilot line for the production of silicon thin-film modules. The new line is expected to reach a capacity of 25 MWp by the end of 2007. Q-Cells recently invested in an Australian company called CSG Solar commercializing thin film on glass. And in September, it acquired 12.39% of Solaria, a Silicon Valley company developing a low-concentrating solar technology using standard silicon solar cells.

"If you ask any solar company what the longer-term biggest risks to the industry are, I think most companies will ask 'is polysilicon the answer five years from now, and are we well positioned from an R&D perspective to capitalize on that?'," said CIBC's Osborne. "While silicon is Q-Cells' focus right now, they're looking to see what will work longer term, and shift their focus as needed."

Industry watchers expect more of these types of investments by manufacturers. "These types of investments into CIGS technology, including our own investments into amorphous silicon and microcrystalline, are laying the foundation for a very bright future in thin films," said Tom Djokovich, CEO of thin film maker XsunX, in reaction to Q-Cells' announcement. "The next several years should provide a wealth of new manufacturing processes that alter the current landscape in solar technologies."

CIGS technology combines several benefits: it does not require any silicon, and in comparison to other thin-film technologies, CIGS has the potential of relatively high module efficiencies in the neighborhood of 12%. The appearance of the black material also makes it well suited for integration into the facades and roofs of buildings. Companies including Miasole, Nanosolar, HelioVolt, Konarka, DayStar Technologies and XsunX are all hustling to get to wide deployments of thin film solar cells of different varieties.

Solibro, the latest Q-Cells joint venture, is a spin-off from a high profile CIGS research group at the University of Uppsala's Ångström Solar Center. The main shareholders of Solibro AB are the Swedish pension fund Sjätte AP-Fonden and the Norwegian investment firm Energy Future Invest. Ownership of the technology developed by Solibro AB, for which three patent applications have been filed, and all related assets will be transferred to Solibro GmbH. A current pilot line in Uppsala will be transformed to a manufacturing development center.

Solibro processes at its pilot line in Uppsala solar active CIGS layers on glass substrates of industrial size. Module efficiencies exceeding 11.5% have been achieved. Based on a closely related technology, an affiliated research group at the Ångström Solar Center has realized efficiencies of up to 16.6% in minimodules and 18.5% in solar cells in laboratory conditions.

Q-Cells is the world's second largest maker of solar cells. Its 900 employees produce about 255 MWp of solar cells a year. The company was recently named the fastest growing company in Germany by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.