Veeco Instruments has revealed the completion of the sale of its metrology business unit to Bruker, provider of high-performance solutions and scientific instruments for molecular and materials research. The US$229 million cash transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards, and will involve the transfer of Veeco’s global business – including its atomic force microscope (AFM) business in Santa Barbara, CA and its optical industrial metrology (OIM) business in Tucson, AZ – to Bruker, which will combine the new acquisition with its existing Bruker Nano instruments business.
Taiwan-based c-Si solar cell manufacturer Neo Solar Power has revealed a 96.1% increase in revenues for the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year, according to a Digitimes report. Second only to Gintech Energy among the Taiwan-based cell manufacturers in terms of revenue for the six months, the company reported an EPS of NT$6.15 (US$0.19) and a first-half revenue figure of NT$7.49 billion (~US$234 million).
LDK Solar has received a welcome ‘invitation’ from the Anhui Provincial Government to invest in the construction of a state-of-the-art solar cell and module facility in Hefei High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. The planned facility will have a capacity of 1GW of crystalline solar cells and 500MW of solar modules. The Hefei High-Tech Construction and Investment Group has committed to bankroll LDK to the tune of RMB2.5 billion for a maximum of three years for the facility’s construction.
Further to the company’s recent announcement of partnering with hotel chain BluSerena in Italy, Conergy has completed its fifth and sixth solar parks in the Apulia region of the country, which together have a total capacity of 1.5MW. The Parabita park has a capacity of 1MW and is kitted out with more than 4,600 Conergy PowerPlus modules, while the 500kW Nardo installation features almost 2,200 of the modules.
Paul Garrity has been named as Enecsys’s head of advanced solar PV micro-inverter development. Joining the company from his former role as VP of engineering and advanced product development at FlexPower (a subsidiary of Flextronics International), Garrity brings over 20 years of power electronics experience to this post.
Product Briefing Outline: AEG Power Solutions has introduced ‘Thyrobox M,’ which, it claims, is the most compact power solution that offers increased reliability and stability for the polycrystalline silicon deposition process. With advanced process monitoring capabilities, a 0.95 power factor and more than 99% energy efficiency, the Thyrobox M also reduces installation, commissioning and maintenance costs for the entire energy supply as well as building costs due to its smaller footprint compared to previous designs and competitor offerings.
Product Briefing Outline: VAT has launched a new transfer valve, the 'FlapVAT' that extends its product portfolio in the 'large transfer valve' series. The new product offers vacuum equipment manufacturers the ability to achieve what it claims is the best price/performance ratio available. VAT now has three large transfer valves in the portfolio for the PV industry, each of which can be customized in various ways to match each individual manufacturer's requirements.
The Masdar initiative in Abu Dhabi has enlisted the help, expertise and investment of the bidding consortium of energy company Total and Abengoa Solar to collaborate on the construction of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant. The 100MW plant will be located in Madinat Zayed, southwest of Abu Dhabi, and will be known as Shams 1.
Product Briefing Outline: Festo has introduced the high-speed H-Portal for the fast handling of solar wafers. Key features of the gantry with its recirculating toothed belts are the dynamic response of 50m/s2, a fast speed of 5m/s in the working space and a repeat accuracy of +/- 0.1mm. The high-speed handling is claimed to have the best delay response in a space-saving working area. The functional principle of the gantry is supported by reliable series components such as two stationary servo motors at the end of the axis. This lightweight composition is said to guarantee a long system service life.
