Bosch Solar Energy opens new cell production plant in Arnstadt

ARNSTADT, GERMANY: Bosch Solar Energy AG has formally opened its new crystalline solar cell production plant, the first phase in the extension of its solar production facilities in Arnstadt, Thuringia.

The new production facilities will enable Bosch to provide extra capacity of 10,000 cells an hour, which works out to around 90 million solar cells a year. That is the equivalent of the total output required to supply all private households in the nearby city of Erfurt with its population of just over 200,000.

In addition to cells, the new, 12,000 square-meter plant also includes part of the wafer production. Thus, with the completion of this facility Bosch Solar Energy achieved the first step towards an integrated factory which will unite all steps in the production process – from silicon ingots to finished modules.

Another important move toward an integrated cell and module production will be the completion of the module production facility next door over the coming months.

“We will thus cover the complete crystalline value creation chain down to the basic material of polysilicon. This not only guarantees optimum performance and quality from our products, but also enables us to leverage cost reduction and technology potential far more effectively,” says Holger von Hebel, Chief Executive at Bosch Solar Energy AG.

With this new plant, Bosch Solar Energy AG is looking to almost triple its nominal capacity to around 630 megawatts peak and thus provide a major boost to its growth strategy. The expansion of its facilities will be completed next year when the research and development center and the new main administrative building are finished. The opening ceremony for the whole complex will be held in summer 2011.

Bosch will have invested around € 530 million in this location by 2012. This is supposed to create a total of 1,100 jobs.