Materials

Major Korea-based polysilicon producer OCI Company said it would make a final decision on acquiring Tokuyama’s Malaysian polysilicon operations by the end of March 2017.

Cogenra Solar, a subsidiary of US-based high-efficiency module manufacturer SunPower, has filed a lawsuit against SolarCity over claims of IP (Intellectual Property) theft and infringement over its direct solar cell to cell contact technology that is often described as an overlapping shingle-like pattern.

3D-Micromac’s ‘microCELL’ TLS is a highly productive laser system for separation of standard silicon solar cells into half cells. The microCELL TLS meets cell manufacturers demands for retaining the mechanical strength of the cut cells.

Polysilicon producer REC Silicon is cutting production at its Moses Lake facility by around 50% from the beginning of October due to overcapacity in the solar supply chain.

The solar centric political campaigning group EU ProSun, established by integrated PV module manufacturer, SolarWorld, has condemned China and Chinese module manufacturers for causing SolarWorld to make 500 ‘temporary’ workers at its manufacturing plants in Germany, redundant.

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) thin-film producer Heliatek has raised €80 million (US$88 million) in a new funding round to expand its ‘HeliaFilm’ manufacturing capacity by one million m² per annum.

Ardian Infrastructure has made its debut in the Latin American solar market in the US$31 million acquisition of four PV plants in Chile and Peru from Spanish EPC Solarpack.

High-efficiency PV module producer and project developer SunPower is to take over its joint venture (JV) solar cell manufacturing operations in Malaysia from Taiwan-based partner AUO, a subsidiary of AU Optronics Corporation at a cost of US$170 million, payable over the next four years.

The University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) has been awarded US$2.1 million from the SunShot Initiative for two research projects aiming to improve the performance of interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells while reducing their production costs and new techniques for CIGS deposition.

The 33rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) has turned away from co-locating with Intersolar Europe in June, 2016 and has returned to a September 2017 slot and be held in Amsterdam.