Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) today announced the successful conclusion of two orders with existing Asian customers for its MAiA 2.1 technology platform with the mass production scalable MB PERC technology.
Both of these orders are second instalments to contracts with leading manufacturers of both mono and multi crystalline solar cells which Meyer Burger published on 1 March and 20 March2017 respectively. With these second instalments, the two customers have ordered a total of CHF 120 million in MAiA equipment this year representing more than 7 GW of PERC capacity. Around one third of the equipment ordered is for the PERC upgrade of existing cell production capacity and the remaining two thirds are for additional cell production capacity.
With PERC technology, cell efficiency can easily be increased by 1% absolute or more. For example, a cell efficiency of 19% increases with PERC to 20% and more. Hans Brändle, CEO of Meyer Burger Technology Ltd, stated: “The increase of about 1% in cell efficiency seems like a small step but it is very significant for the PV industry enabling further reductions in the cost per Watt (Wp). The fact that two leading PV manufacturers have already ordered a total of more than 7 GW of MB PERC in 2017 clearly demonstrates that technology drives the photovoltaic industry. We are proud to be the trusted technology partner for the leaders in the PV industry.”
Delivery and commissioning of the equipment will take place in the second half of 2017. In order to meet the increased market demand, Meyer Burger will temporarily increase production capacity for MAiA 2.1 equipment. Hans Brändle added: ”With the return to profitability as our top priority, we remain committed to stringently managing our cost structure.”
