4 out of 8 ‘SunFab’ thin film lines up and running

Applied Materials executives said in their latest financial conference call that four of its eight ‘SunFab’ thin film production lines that are a various stages of readiness are now producing panels. At Intersolar Munich, in June this year, Signet Solar announced that they were the first SunFab customer to start production.


“We now have four customers that are producing solar panels,” stated Michael Splinter, President, Chief Executive Officer of Applied Materials. “We expect to get our first SunFab signed off this quarter with more to follow in the first part of fiscal ‘09.”

Splinter also noted in the conference call that business prospects remained strong for its thin film offerings.

“The solar industry continues to gain momentum and investment prospects remain strong with particularly rapid growth in Europe and Asia. During the quarter we announced two new contracts and one follow on for SunFab earning new customers and important emerging to solar markets like Italy and the Middle East. For SunFab interest remains strong and our customer pipeline is robust,” noted Splinter.

The company also said that it had already secured over $100 million in service contracts for both single and tandem junctions SunFab lines.

Newsletter

Preview Latest Subscribe
We won't share your details - promise!

Publications

  • Photovoltaics International 16th Edition

    Photovoltaics International 16th Edition

    This sixteenth edition of Photovoltaics International marks four years of production of the quarterly journal. As always, our focus is on efficiency and quality improvement and cost reduction in manufacturing. As 2012 rolls along, companies are falling by the wayside due to supply and demand issues, ASP declines and drastic governmental subsidy cuts. A clear picture of 2012 is offered through papers from the likes of TÜV Rheinland, Fraunhofer ISE, SEMI PV Group and EPIA, amongst others.

  • Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    This digital interactive Lite sees Tom Cheyney follow Agua Caliente’s progress on becoming one of first truly utility-scale PV power farms, where 40–50MW (AC) will be commissioned by the end of the year. We also feature one of the world’s largest silicon thin-film PV power plants, Avenal; a report on warnings of the collapse of module prices from Solarbuzz and PI-Berlin presents tips on PV module testing. A print version of this edition will be distributed at Solar Power International 2011 in Dallas, Texas.

  • Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2012 Production Annual

    Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2012 Production Annual

    Manufacturing the Solar Future 2012, the second in the Photovoltaics International PV Production Annual series, delivers the next installment of in-depth technical manufacturing information on PV production processes.

Partners

Acknowledgements

Solar Media