First generation PV thin-film adopters are falling like flies as Berlin-based Inventux files for bankruptcy. Inventux was a customer of Oerlikon Solar and an early adopter of its micromorph silicon turnkey technology. A temporary insolvency administrator has been appointed by the local court in Berlin-Charlottenburg, which is understood to be looking for new investors and secure some of the 200 jobs at risk at the company.
“The situation of Inventux is linked with the broader question whether Germany can sustain future-oriented technologies like silicon-based thin-film modules or whether Asian manufacturers with dumping prices below production costs succeed in squeezing globally leading manufacturers from the market,” commented Prof. Rolf Rattunde of the Berlin-based law firm Leonhardt, acting at insolvency administrator.
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“The prices on the solar market are currently so low that an economically reasonable price policy does not exist anymore – it can actually only get better. Politics seems to recognize the gravity of the situation. Therefore, Inventux offers good opportunities for investors who look to the long term.”
Inventux was founded in 2007 and started production in 2008, raising module efficiencies to 10% range in 2010.
However, despite claims of Chinese module manufacturer’s anti-competitive practices, the widely accepted reason for crystalline silicon module price declines was due to the rapid fall in polysilicon prices and the ability to scale production facilities to the gigawatt level while continuing to improve conversion efficiencies at the same or better pace than silicon thin film producers.
The administrator said that the company would continue to operate while new investors were sought.