Industrial gases firms Linde and Praxair have announced plans to merge that would create a US$29 billion global business dominating many regional industrial sectors around the world. The major merger is not expected to be completed in the second half of 2018, subject to anti-trust agencies in Germany and the US.
The vast number of announcements related to P-type mono PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) production in the last 18 months have primarily related to integrated cell and module producers shifting in-house production to the high-efficiency cells, as conventional multicrystalline Al-BSF (Aluminium-Back Surface Field) solar cells reach efficiency limitations.
China-based integrated PV module manufacturer Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical Co (HT-SAAE) has established a 300MW solar cell and 600MW module assembly plant in Turkey to meet local demand as well as supply Europe and the US.
The US-based solar module assembly operations of China-based Seraphim Solar is ramping capacity to meet demand. Seraphim Solar USA has also been approved by residential financing firms, including Sungage Financial and Sunnova as an approved vendor.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has received a further €64.3 million pre-payment on CIGS thin-film equipment from Chinese JV partners Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group.
China-based PV manufacturer GCL System Integration Technology (GCL-SI) has signed a supply deal with German-based wholesaler, Europe Solar Concept (ESC) to offer its modules across Europe that are produced by Vietnam-based OEM producer, Vina Solar Technology.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS said its key strategic focus was to diversify its regional and market segment sales in 2017, while reiterating full-year PV module shipment guidance to be in the range of 5.5GW to 5.7GW in 2017.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JA Solar may have met first quarter 2017 guidance on key financial metrics and guided a strong second quarter, due to an increase in demand from China but management commentary turned cautious for the second-half of the year on limited customer demand visibility.
Wickon Hightech has developed a new model of the ‘SPEEDFilm’ inspection platform specifically for PV manufacturers. The ‘SPEEDFilm Solar’ system ensures 100% inspection of screen printed paste structures with a very high throughput that is able to handle thinner and thinner printed structures on c-Si solar wafers.
Heraeus Photovoltaics has launched a specifically designed frontside silver paste to provide improved contact ability diamond wire cut wafer with ‘Black Silicon’ texture
