Manufacturing

Japanese PV manufacturer Panasonic is to close its module factory in Hungary at the expense of 550 jobs.

Citing changing market conditions and an extended period of consolidation within the solar sector, PV inverter market leader, SMA Solar Technology plans to reduce its headcount further by around 700 full-time positions in Germany by the end of 2014.

With the aim of achieving 20% conversion efficiencies but with lower material costs, Solliance and imec have demonstrated a CZTSe (Cu2ZnSnSe4)-based thin-film solar cell (1x1cm2, AM1.5G) with 9.7% efficiency.

Module manufacturer Canadian Solar’s project development subsidiary has sold a 10MW solar plant to energy provider TransCanada Corporation.

Having received an unspecified capital injection, CIGS thin-film start-up Solarion has successfully exited insolvency proceedings.

PV Crystalox Solar has sold its polysilicon production operations in Bitterfeld, Germany to the former management team, contributing €12.3 million to the renamed Silicon Products Research Engineering Production in the process.

US-based ultra-thin silicon wafer start-up Crystal Solar is planning to complete pilot production of its ‘Epi Thin-Silicon’ technology this year with volume production targeted sometime in 2014.

Small France-based module manufacturer, Solarezo has entered bankruptcy proceedings in an effort to restructure its finances having a reported €50 million order backlog with only a 65MW production capacity, according to the company’s website.

German solar firm JvG Thoma is to supply an unnamed company with manufacturing equipment for a 10MW PV module plant in Nigeria.

China-based monocrystalline wafer producer, Comtec Solar, is constructing a new wafer plant at the Sama Jaya Free Industrial Zone in Malaysia.