With module efficiencies increasing and costs decreasing in thin film PV, it seemed the perfect opportunity for PES to discover more from Michael van der Gugten, Sales and Marketing Executive, Smit Thermal Solutions. Here’s why he thinks the thin film revival is underway…
PES: Welcome back to PES Solar. Smit Thermal Solutions is a new name, but you’re not new to the thin film PV production equipment market or to this magazine. Can you give us the background?
Michael van der Gugten: As some of your readers may know, Smit Thermal Solutions was established in June 2015, following the restructuring of Smit Ovens. But while our name has changed, our commitment remains the same: to supply thermal process solutions for cost-effective mass production of thin film solar cells, particularly for cadmium telluride (CdTe) and CIGS (Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2). And of course, we still have 75 years’ experience in glass and electronics to call on, as well as over a decade in thin film PV. So we really understand large-scale manufacturing.
Like a lot of the industry, we have been through some challenging times in the last few years. However, the restructuring has put us on a sound financial footing for the long-term, with a secure basis to take on large projects and handle the growing demand in this market. For instance, in May this year, we signed a deal with CTIEC, an affiliate of China National Building Materials (CNBM) that acquired CIGS thin-film producer Avancis and CTF in 2014. This contract is for the delivery of multiple core process tools, covering all thermal processes, for CTIEC’s 100MW CdTe project in Chengdu.
