At the start of each year, when market observers do their annual look at the year ahead, there is normally always a vague statement about some type of widespread consolidation of companies set to unfold.
Struggling flexible CIGS thin-film consumer product producer Ascent Solar Technologies could be on the uptick with new US$20 million funding from Hong Kong Boone Group, an Asian strategic investor.
Leading thin-film specialist First Solar will transfer its existing business development resources in Turkey to Turkish industrial conglomerate Zorlu Solar and will close its Istanbul office.
US-based start-up WattGlass has secured a Series A round of funding led by material sciences firm, DSM that was said to support its efforts to commercialise its anti-reflective and anti-soiling coating for PV panels.
As part of the US Department Of Energy’s (DOE) Sunshot Initiative and led by SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly), the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium have announced the launch of the Solar Energy Optimization Testkit, a new set of evaluation capabilities for photovoltaic systems.
Thin film perovskite solar cell developer Dyesol has had an application granted by the Australian government for a AUD$2.5 million (US$1.9 million) in funding for an 18 month project to develop a large-area on glass product prototype that would coincide with the company establishing pilot line production in Australia.
PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in January, 2017 have remained subdued and continue the trend set in the second-half of 2016.
While third-party outsourcing of solar PV module assembly has been a constant feature of the PV industry for many years, the landscape of suppliers and the country of manufacturing has changed radically in the past two years, and will continue to do so out to the end of 2018.
While there is no shortage of leading indicators in the PV industry that can be used to predict future trends in manufacturing and across the various companies involved in this space, one of the most pertinent ones relates to capital expenditure (or capex).
