Top 10 suppliers of PV manufacturing equipment 2008: Applied Materials tops!

BEDFORD, ENGLAND: VLSI Research Inc. announced the ranking of the top 10 suppliers of PV manufacturing equipment worldwide for 2008.

Applied Materials goes straight to the number one spot in their first full year with revenues falling just short of $800 million related to its equipment for manufacturing crystalline solar cells as well as integrated thin film solar production lines.

Oerlikon Solar, the largest supplier of turnkey silicon thin film module lines in 2008, came in second place, GT Solar International, a supplier of turnkey solutions for polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module manufacturing equipment, followed closely. Rounding out the top five with revenues in excess of $500 million were Gebr. Schmid and centrotherm photovoltaics AG.Source: VLSI Research Inc. PV-Solar

“The top 10 list is dominated by European companies with seven based in Europe. Applied Materials and GT Solar International are headquartered in the United States and Ulvac in Japan,” commented John West, managing director, VLSI Research Europe. “European equipment suppliers got a head start in PV Manufacturing equipment markets through strong European government incentives, forcing companies around the world to play catch-up”, West continued.

The PV capital equipment industry is complex and suppliers offer a wide range of solutions. During 2008, the PV equipment industry went through rapid growth and shaped into its current state.

The companies represented here are the top 10 companies of over 200 that VLSI tracks on an on-going basis. This top 10 ranking includes total 2008 calendar year worldwide revenues from PV equipment suppliers. The revenues of the companies with non-calendar year based fiscal years are adjusted to reflect 2008 calendar year revenues.

Some of the revenues are double counted because they include sales from turnkey lines that are then sold to end customers. The ranking includes revenues for polysilicon material, silicon ingot, silicon wafer, cell and module manufacturing equipment, as well as service and support revenues.

GT Solar launches engineering solution for Silane gas

MERRIMACK, USA: GT Solar, a global provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, announced the availability of its Silane Production Package, which bundles GT Solar’s silane technology expertise with its proprietary equipment.

This new package enables companies in the semiconductor, solar, and flat panel display industries to secure their own source of ultrapure silane gas using cost-effective, local production facilities.

“Increased demand from the semiconductor, photovoltaic, and flat panel display industries has resulted in shortages of silane gas accompanied by rising prices,” said Dave Keck, vice president and general manager of GT Solar’s polysilicon business.

“As the need for silane gas continues to grow, companies around the globe are beginning to seek more secure solutions. With silane production a natural extension of our existing, well-proven polysilicon and trichlorosilane production plant capabilities, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of these adjacent market opportunities.

“Similar to what we are experiencing in polysilicon production, where GT Solar’s efforts with new entrants are drastically augmenting polysilicon supply, we expect that our technology and know-how will help create a new class of regional competitors in the silane market. As a result, we anticipate that silane users will have more choice, and there will be a reduced reliance on the one, primary supplier that currently exists.”

GT Solar’s Silane Production Package is a modular equipment solution and basic engineering package that enables companies to construct silane plants and begin delivering silane gas within 24 months. The package includes design, fabrication, quality control, training and technical support services; as well as a modular silane production plant, complete with piping, instrumentation, and analytical equipment.

Silane (or monosilane) gas is one of the most widely used silicon-containing gases utilized in the production of the thin silicon layers that are the foundation for semiconductor and photovoltaic products, as well as flat panel displays.

GT Solar commissions first integrated solar wafer and cell turnkey solution in Greece

MERRIMACK, USA: GT Solar, a global provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, announced that it has received final acceptance for the design, installation and commissioning of the first integrated photovoltaic (PV) solar wafer and cell turnkey fabrication line in Greece.

The state-of-the-art production line, created for Greece-based Solar Cells Hellas S.A., has an annual capacity of 30-megawatts (MW). It delivers a stable production process that produces high-quality multi-crystalline cells of optimum efficiency. With the commissioning of this turnkey solution, Solar Cells Hellas becomes the first PV manufacturer in Greece.

“The successful start-up of this wafer and cell turnkey line is additional confirmation that GT Solar delivers to our customers advanced technological solutions that are efficiently implemented through the application of our extensive process know-how,” said Ron Jones, vice president and general manager of GT Solar’s turnkey business. “We’re proud to have worked with Solar Cells Hellas to open this world-class facility in the Greek port city of Patras, and believe they are well-positioned to help meet the increasing demand for solar energy in Greece and throughout Western Europe.”

GT Solar is one of only a small number of equipment providers that offers turnkey solutions for every process involved in manufacturing PV wafers, cells, and modules. The company’s turnkey solutions, which integrate GT Solar and best of breed third party equipment, are built to increase customers’ productivity, boost quality and improve line yields, all resulting in a low cost of ownership. Comprehensive training and world-class service back each turnkey offering. GT Solar has successfully installed a variety of turnkey line configurations in countries around the globe including China, India, Italy, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

“Being new to the industry, Solar Cells Hellas needed a partner that we could rely on – one with significant PV manufacturing expertise and experience,” said Dimitris Panagakos, chairman for Solar Cells Hellas. “Not only was GT Solar able to build and deploy our equipment, but they also helped us design and configure our facility, and provided the training that will allow us to realize the best possible results. We’re pleased at how quickly we’ve been able to get our operations up-and-running, and we look forward to expanding relationship with GT Solar as we grow our company.”

A GT Solar turnkey solution is built on the solid foundation of GT Solar’s industry-leading directional solidification systems (DSS) furnace technology. GT Solar’s wafer fabrication line (GT-WAFFABTM) delivers high-quality multi-crystalline ingots to the wafer lines. It features leading-edge equipment technologies for squaring, polishing, chamfering, wafering, cleaning, and inspection. GT Solar’s cell turnkey line (GT-CELFABTM) is designed to produce high efficiency solar cells from round or square, mono or multi-crystalline silicon wafers.