India's government has made clear its intentions to cultivate a solar PV manufacturing base at home, but interest from foreign players has yet to be translated into major capacity expansions. PV Tech gathered views from various players - both foreign and domestic - about what steps need to be taken, while at the REI Expo 2018 exhibition in Greater Noida, India.
Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Amtech Systems has secured over a US$6 million order for its ‘Quantum’ diffusion system for the mass production of high-efficiency N-type solar cells.
China-based merchant solar cell producer Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co (Aiko Solar) said that it had entered volume production of its P-type monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) solar cells with conversion efficiencies of 22%.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS has appointed a new chairman and CEO with former experience at the company as parent, Hanwha Group begins consolidating solar sector subsidiaries.
Manz launched its third generation ‘SpeedPicker’ 3.0 from its SAS series equipment for the specific handling of crystalline silicon wafers in the manufacturing of solar cells. SpeedPicker provides an automation solution for almost contact-free handling of solar cells throughout their entire production process.
Singulus Technologies two-step multicrystalline wafer texturing process on its inline ‘LINEX’ platform is said to reduce manufacturing costs and improve cell conversion efficiencies.
China-based polysilicon and multicrystalline wafer producer Daqo New Energy has said it would discontinue its solar wafer manufacturing operations in September, 2018.
Much has been written and voiced over the past couple of months in the PV industry, following the so-called China-531 policy announcement that finally provided a wake-up call to Chinese manufacturers that their domestic end-market was not going to be allowed to maintain its near-exponential growth characteristics.
China-based PV module assembly equipment specialist Yingkou Jinchen Machinery Co reported record second quarter 2018 operating income as key PV manufacturers in China continued to add new module capacity in the first half of 2018, notably through fully-automated solar module assembly lines.
