Air Liquide strengthens presence in China with 13 new contracts

Air Liquide has signed 13 new contracts with c-Si solar cell manufacturers in China, two of which include major players JA Solar and Yingli Green Energy. This move strengthens the speciality gas supplier's presence in China and will involve an investment of more than €10 million. China currently hosts 35% of the total solar cell manufacturing capacity in the world. 

This supply deal will mean that Air Liquide will be the sole speciality gas provider for these two companies, which are currently among the top three solar cell manufacturers in China with a combined capacity of 1,400MWp. The company also supplies Suntech, the largest manufacturer in the country. 

Air Liquide will supply JA Solar's solar cell production fabs in the Jiangsu and Hebei provinces and Yingli's solar cell and poly-silicon facilities in Baoding Photovoltaic park, also located in Hebei province. The company also supplies carrier and speciality gases to solar cell manufacturers in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hebei. Some of these companies include Jinko Solar, Sunflower and DelSolar.

These new contracts mean that Air Liquide is now supplying 100 solar cell manufacturing companies around the world, with an overall c-Si capacity above 10GWp annually.

Francisco Martins, Vice-President World Business Line Electronics of the Air Liquide said, "We are pleased to have been chosen to supply the three largest solar cell manufacturers in China. This confirms our ability to supply added-value gases and turnkey solutions to this industry.

These recent contracts reinforce our leading position in this fast-changing industry. The photovoltaic activity is at the crossroads of Energy and the Environment, two growth drivers for the Air Liquide Group."