Indian module manufacturer Waaree Energies has struck a multi-year supply agreement with CubicPV, a merger between US-based wafer producer 1366 Technologies and Hunt Perovskite Technologies (HPT), under which Waaree will receive 1GW of silicon cells per year from CubicPV’s Indian factory.
The cells will feature wafers made with CubicPV’s Direct Wafer technology, which produces wafers straight from a molten bath of silicon, with Waaree targeting greater growth in the Indian utility-scale market although it has also seen its exports rise following strong international demand.
Waaree said it hopes the partnership will “strengthen India’s domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem”. CubicPV had applied to India’s recently expanded Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that aims to incentivise PV manufacturing in the country but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Waaree said the agreement with CubicPV would establish a domestic supply line for Waaree and a provide a level of protection from logistical challenges and high commodity prices that has come to characterise the import market recently.
“We believe that CubicPV’s technologies will deliver significant benefit to our customers and to the Indian solar market both immediately and in the long-run,” said Hitesh Doshi, chairman and managing director of Waaree. “We are proud to bring a module to the market featuring domestically-produced wafers and cells manufactured with a low carbon footprint.”
Having previously operated a pilot plant in Malaysia, CubicPV announced at the time of its merger in June last year that the company was planning to invest US$300 million to establish a 2GW wafer and cell manufacturing factory in India.
Meanwhile, CubicPV has received US$25 million in funding from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, First Solar, Hunt Energy Enterprises and others to help the company scale.