We’re delighted to once again speak to Air Liquide’s Olivier Blachier (VP Electronics Markets), who’s about to reveal a raft of new developments. For all the exclusive information, read on…
PES: Welcome back to PES, could you begin by briefly reintroducing Air Liquide Group and its role in the electronics, and in particular, the PV supply chain?
Olivier Blachier: Air Liquide Group is the world leading supplier of gases for the industry and the environment, with sales in 2010 of 13,5B€ and investments of approximately 2B€/year in new capital projects. We have been proudly serving the semiconductor, flat panel display, photovoltaic and LED industries since their early days, and we’ve been operating for over 30 years in the electronics businesses.
In the solar/PV segment in particular, Air Liquide has achieved an undisputed number one position in the supply of advanced materials to over 150 polysilicon, wafer, and solar cell manufacturers worldwide, and we are now the incumbent supplier of eight of the ten top solar cell manufacturers worldwide.
Our company provides a complete offering of gases and precursors to polysilicon, wafer and c-Si solar cell manufacturers, as well as to the thin-film market. (Si Thin Film, CdTe and CIGS)
PES: Where do you see the solar/PV market heading in these turbulent times?
OB: There is no doubt that crystalline silicon remains, and will remain, a dominant segment of the industry for the years to come, and that tremendous cost reductions have been achieved in the last three years through vertical integration, a scaling-up of manufacturing, and the launch of high-efficiency cells to the market. However, over 20GWp worth of new capacity was added in less than 18-months and this rate of build-up is just unsustainable in a market which is predicted to grow only 20 per cent this year, and possibly another 10-30 per cent next.
PES: What are the exact products a gas company like Air Liquide traditionally supplies to our industry? And what does it represent in the total Costs of Manufacturing?
