The InFrame Synapse product family of German company Information Technology AG (acp-IT) offers all the IT functionalities necessary to manage and control a high-tech manufacturing line in the PV as well as semiconductor, electronics and automotive industries. Dr Frank Frauenhoffer, one of the founders of the company, talks about its product portfolio. PES: Dr Frauenhoffer,… Read more »
A leading global provider of intelligent vision-guided robotics systems and services, Adept Technology GmbH systems provide performance and economic value throughout the production lifecycle, enabling PV customers to achieve precision, quality and productivity in their assembly, handling and packaging processes. PES spoke to Joachim Melis, Vice President Worldwide Sales. PES: Intelligent automation has come a… Read more »
A global supplier of gases and chemicals, Air Products supplies customers in technology, energy, healthcare, and industrial markets. Crucially, it has adapted to serve the PV sector and boasts a massive portfolio of clients worldwide. PES asked Jeff Handelman, General Manager, Photovoltaics, for his global perspective on the industry. PES: PV seems to be developing… Read more »
Applied Materials is a US company that focuses on its 40-year equipment manufacturing competency to unlock cost reductions and accelerate the march towards peak and grid parity. Robert DeLine, Applied’s Managing Director of Channel Development, talks PES through the process. PES: Grid parity is the buzz word of 2010. How does your company aid cost… Read more »
Canadian Solar Inc. is one of the world’s largest solar module producers. In this interview, Gregory Spanoudakis, President of European Operations, shares his thoughts on the company’s ever-growing success and the outlook for 2010. PES: Welcome back to PES magazine. What have been the challenges and the successes that your company has faced since we… Read more »
Don Buchalski, senior marketing specialist, Dow Corning Solar Solutions, talks to PES about the advantages silicon-based materials bring to the PV industry and the specific solutions offered by Dow Corning. PES: Stephanie Burns, Dow Corning’s CEO, has stated that making solar energy economically competitive with traditional energy sources is a corporate priority for your company…. Read more »
PES is proud to welcome back Egbert Wenninger, Vice President, Sales Glass Technology of Grenzebach Maschinenbau GmbH (Grenzebach). We pressed him on recent business partnerships, product development and more. PES: We note that Grenzebach has formed a recent partnership with Algoscan. Can you explain a little about this business and what you intend to offer… Read more »
As a comprehensive optoelectronics group, Jenoptik is well-known – and indeed, well respected – within the PV arena. With its group headquarters in Jena (Germany), the company is represented in nearly 70 countries and has major production sites abroad in the USA, France and Switzerland as well as shareholdings in India, China, Korea and Japan…. Read more »
As CEO of Meyer Burger, Peter Pauli has helmed the company through a period of impressive – and perhaps unprecedented – growth. Their all-share acquisition of 3S Industries has created a company with a workforce comprising more than 1,000 employees, making it the world’s third-largest PV equipment supplier. Here, he tells PES about the past,… Read more »
One of the most forward-looking operators within the PV industry, Multi-Contact is nevertheless built upon decades of innovation and experience across a broad sweep of industries. PES caught up with CEO, Rainer Isenrich, who is currently steering the company into previously-untapped global markets. PES: Welcome back to PES. For the benefit of any new readers… Read more »
As CEO of Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum, Dr. Andreas Widl is one of the PV industry’s leading lights. Here, he talks to PES about the evolution of the company and the technological advances that have made it a major global player. PES: Welcome to PES magazine, for the benefit of our readers who might not be… Read more »
Since 1995, Prediktor has delivered advanced industrial IT tools and solutions to a wide range of industries, including the PV sector. As CEO Steinar Sælid explains, the company’s solutions are based on deep process knowledge and insights into customers’ processes and operations. PES: When you were formulating your Manufacturing Execution System (MES) solution back in… Read more »
In October last year, Hans-Joachim Bender was awarded a German Enterprise Medal (“Wirtschaftsmedaille”) in recognition of his corporate merits and achievements as the managing partner of Robert Bürkle GmbH. The Black Forest plant manufacturer is bucking the recent economic trend by introducing new products and innovations and has aggressively opened up the photovoltaic market as… Read more »
China-based Upsolar is a global company, specialising in the design and manufacture of PV modules. It has always maintained that its strength lies in the development of strict quality control in the manufacturing process, to provide worldwide customers with reliable, excellent products. Here, PES talks to the company’s Jerry Li, Supply Chain & Manufacturing Director…. Read more »
Bottero Group is a global player for the glass industry, with a focus on the design, production and installation of glass technologies and equipment that stretches back over more than 50 years. With the expertise of their 1200 people, seven Research and Development centres in Europe, production facilities in Italy and China, and a service… Read more »
With the acquisition of the solar company STANGL Semiconductor Equipment AG in 2007, a foundation was laid to establish SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES in the growing photovoltaics market. Numerous new products were developed and made marketable at SINGULUS and STANGL, and as from 2010 SINGULUS will pursue an expansion strategy in the solar segment. In the future… Read more »
A year ago, the future of the PV industry in Greece was looking very bright indeed. After what seemed to be a long time in the mid-table of European renewable energy output, lagging behind the rather less sunny Ireland and Great Britain, it seemed there was a new effort to capture the country’s greatest natural… Read more »
As the world becomes ever more conscious of the need to conserve fossil fuels and move towards greener methods of energy production, the EC’s Joint Research Centre remains at the centre of efforts to spread the word. Here the group gives PES an overview of the current state of play and looks into its crystal… Read more »
PES talks exclusively to Adel El Gammal, Secretary General of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, to hear his views on PV market perspectives and challenges, and how can solar PV become a mainstream energy supplier in Europe by 2020. PES: Welcome. It’s good to have the EPIA back in the magazine again, how has the… Read more »
Just over 60 years ago, on March 26, 1949, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft was founded in the large conference hall of the Bavarian Ministry of the Economy. At the time, the idea was to develop new structures for research after the war’s destruction, and to spur reconstruction of the economy. Today, the globally-respected institute analyses current macro… Read more »
Grid parity for solar power – competitiveness with electricity prices – has for some years been known as the ‘Holy Grail’ of the PV industry, with many speculating on when and where it is likely to be achieved. PES investigates. Obviously, much depends on the amount of sunshine in the skies above. The west coast… Read more »
California-based Paula Mints is widely recognised as one of the foremost experts in the PV industry. For many years she has provided clients with objective, comprehensive industry analysis based on extensive primary research, including her forward-looking understanding of market and technology trends. Her strong background in primary research qualifies her to provide insight into the… Read more »
The quest for grid parity has been a long one, but it seems as if the new solar dawn is finally arriving in many European nations. But then, it all depends who you ask… “Basically everything (in the industry) is bound to grow still further. Growing further means less cost. Less cost means grid parity…. Read more »
With cost cutting in mind, the photovoltaics industry increasingly relies on automation, expecting it to bring about sustained high product quality and increased productivity. PES explains all. Industrial robots feed and discharge solar cell production lines and sort the finished components by pick-and-place processes. They handle glass panes, cut films and foils and assemble frames… Read more »
PES takes a look at three state-of the-art modes of transport which could help facilitate an energy-efficient future and help conserve the increasingly limited natural resources of the planet. SkiesSome 110 years after the much-celebrated Wright Brothers designed and flew their first aircraft, the age of solar fight has finally arrived. The ghosts of Wilbur… Read more »
BrightView Systems, a leading provider of in-line metrology-based process control and optimization tools for thin-film solar cell manufacturing, hosted the Prime Minister Mathias Platzeck of Brandenburg, the Minister of Economic and European Affairs Ralf Christoffers, Klaus-Dieter Licht of ILB (State Investment Bank), and Hinrich Soehlke Director from the Brandenburg Economic Development Board at their facilities in Israel. Germany capital region,… Read more »
Dow Jones & Company plans to construct a large-scale solar-power installation to generate clean energy for its corporate offices in central New Jersey. At 4.1 megawatts, the system is expected to be one of the largest installations for solar power at a single commercial site in the U.S. “Investing in solar power confirms our commitment… Read more »
A solar refrigeration container is one of the particular highlights presented at Phaesun GmbH’s fair booth. It has been designed by ILK Dresden for the use in hospitals, medical supply depots and food storage centres in regions with insecure, or unavailable energy supply. The system has a modular structure, including integrated solar modules with a… Read more »
The Spanish company PROINSO- specialized in the distribution of modules, inverters, trackers and fixed structures for photovoltaic systems, has been awarded the supply of various solar photovoltaic farms in Greece that will all together amount to more than 7.54 MW of installed capacity. The agreements include the supply of 2.65 MW of 2-axis trackers from… Read more »
The French subsidiary of the Swiss manufacturer of inverters for photovoltaic systems Sputnik Engineering AG is moving today from Paris to Saint Priest near Lyon . “In the south-east of France there are the largest number of solar plants, especially in the Rhône-Alpes region. Lyon has also become a magnet for the solar industry. Roughly… Read more »
Singapore based Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of TecDAX listed Phoenix Solar AG, Germany, has completed Singapore’s largest photovoltaic plant built with thin-film modules with a peak output of 380 kilowatts (kWp) on the new company building of Applied Materials Inc. in Singapore. The thin-film modules used in construction are the world’s largest, with a surface area of 5.7… Read more »
In the hot desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, finding fresh drinking water has always been a great challenge. For decades now, the state has been providing clean water by converting millions of gallons of seawater via desalination plants that remove salts and minerals from the water. Now the country plans to use one of its… Read more »
For the first time, Merck KGaA will be presenting its photovoltaics product portfolio under the heading “Working with SunshineTM” at PHOTON’s 6th Photovoltaic Technology Show 2010 Europe (Stuttgart, April 27-29). The main focus of Merck’s presentation will be the eco-friendly isishape® range of printable etching pastes. These highly efficient products are designed for smart and… Read more »
As a leading global supplier of high quality solar cells, Ningbo Solar has reinforced its commitment to driving business growth with the purchase of a further 50MW worth of photovoltaic metallization lines from DEK Solar. The announcement comes just months after Ningbo Solar’s purchase of eight metallization lines from the mass imaging leader. Following an… Read more »
Advanced processes for the drying and firing of solar cell metallization will be center stage at Rehm Thermal Systems’ booth at the SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation conference and Exhibition in Shanghai May 5-7. Key members of the Rehm team will be on hand at Booth 5021/2 and will explain to visitors ways in which… Read more »
BlueChip EnergyTM, a provider of complete solar power solutions for residential, commercial, government and utility applications, today announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply Progress Energy Florida with renewable solar photovoltaic (PV) power from the Rinehart Solar Farm, a 10 MW utility-scale solar PV facility the company is developing in Central Florida. The Rinehart… Read more »