The Komax Group has warned that group sales in the first half of 2009 will see a ‘huge decline,’ resulting in losses without given further guidance. Komax has been hit by a sales decline in the struggling automotive industry but has been affected by the tight financial markets, especially for project finance for major photovoltaics plants, the company said.
Photovoltaics technology and equipment supplier Roth & Rau has officially opened a new R&D facility at its headquarters in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany. The 1,500 m² lab facility was opened last Friday at a cost of €11 million and will focus on products and processes for use in the production of novel, more efficient solar cells.
Suntech Power Holdings has joined the PV CYCLE association which is engaged in establishing a voluntary take-back and recycling program for end-of-life PV modules in Europe. The first large quantities of modules installed in Europe was in the early 1990s, so major recycling is not expected for another 10 to 15 years.
3S Industries Group is expanding its operations in Asia as it expects significant future growth for its automatic string soldering machines, laminating lines, testers and turnkey solar module production lines in the region. 3S said it was establishing subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Singapore and an office in Kunshan, China.
China-based PV manufacturer Zhejiang Hongchen has placed a follow-on order with DEK for a second PV1200 photovoltaic metallization line. Zhejiang Hongchen cited the zero wafer breakage and high throughput of the system as well as short delivery times as key reasons for the purchase of another system.
Konarka Technologies has teamed with Arch Aluminum & Glass to develop building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) products using its polymer-based, organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology on glass. Arch Aluminum specializes in artistic and architectural glass products.
Suntech Power Holdings CTO, Dr. Stuart Wenham has received NewSouth Innovations (NSi) Inventor of the Year Award. NSi is the technology commercialization company of the University of NSW, Australia (UNSW). Dr. Wenham holds a dual position as the Director of the UNSW's ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence as well as his position at Suntech. Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO was a former senior research scientist at the Centre of Excellence.
Based on its short but successful relationship with Topinfrasolar, a Korean systems integrator, Canadian Solar will supply the company with a further 5MW of modules this year. Topinfrasolar had already purchased approximately 3MW from Canadian Solar since the beginning of the year.
Certified Steel, Nexus Properties, and SunPower have agreed to build a 1.2-MW solar power system at Certified's facility in Hamilton, NJ. The system, which should be completed in July, will be the largest installation financed by Public Service Enterprise's (PSE&G) solar loan program so far.
NanoMarkets has begun a new research effort focusing on the opportunities for suppliers of metals and related materials used in solar photovoltaics. Metals covered in the program will include silver, indium, tin, cadmium, aluminum, molybdenum and zinc.
