Dutch start-up partners with Roth & Rau and Day4 Energy on advanced integrated c-Si production plant

A stealthy start-up, Netherlands-based Alinement B.V. (ABV), has bold plans to become a major integrated PV module manufacturer in Europe. Under the terms of a triparty memorandum of understanding, ABV will start production in the first quarter of 2012 in a 80MW factory, using advanced heterojunction cell technology and turnkey manufacturing lines from Roth & Rau and module manufacturing technology from Day4 Energy. It also said it plans to increase production to 500MW at a single location in the Netherlands, as well as 2.5GW globally. The site for the integrated wafer/cell/module plant was not disclosed.

“The combination of these two technologies, along with the necessary manufacturing equipment, all in an optimized package has the potential to produce one of the most-efficient, lowest-cost solar modules available in our industry. With Roth & Rau and Day4 Energy, we have a strong partnership in solar technology to bring costs down substantially through the application of state-of-the art technology,” commented Jac Hanssen, CEO of Alinement.

“Aligning two of the best PV technologies available is important from a technical standpoint. However, equally important is that we are demonstrating a unique business approach, allowing our organizations to work together and create an industry breakthrough,” said Dietmar Roth, CEO of Roth & Rau. “We are able to create advanced and highly efficient solar products, streamline production capabilities and provide manufacturers a pipeline of future technologies ensuring they continue to produce some of the most advanced solar products available on the market.”

Little is know about ABV. In a joint statement, ABV was described as a ‘group of solar experts with a proven track record of bringing new products and production methods to market.’ ABV was also said to be a prospective Day4 solarSYSTEMS partner. Jac Hanssen, CEO of Alinement, was formally a director of Solland Solar, also based in the Netherlands.

According to Roth & Rau, it has been developing heterojunction technology for more than two years at their Switzerland Technology Centre in close collaboration with EPFL in Neuchatel, which offers an efficiency potential of more than 20%, while delivering 'favorable' manufacturing costs, the company noted.