Launch of the Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center

22.07.2008 __ SVTC Technologies, the independent semiconductor process-development foundry, announced that its SVTC Solar business unit has launched the Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center. The center will provide the burgeoning solar industry with the infrastructure – including development equipment, support and engineering services – required to create and commercialize innovative solar energy products.

Agreements have been signed with leading photovoltaic (PV) industry suppliers to provide key services through the Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center, and the center has accepted its first solar manufacturing customers. Corporate investment so far is estimated at $20 million to $30 million.

In addition, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency has invested in the new PV development center, which it sees as an important element in the city of San Jose's Green Vision initiatives.

The Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center is located in an 87,000 square foot facility in South San Jose, Calif. – in the heart of iconic Silicon Valley, and part of a growing solar-cluster in the Edenvale Redevelopment Project Area. The center will provide shared access to PV equipment and services, spanning the development and manufacture of solar cells and solar panels, as well as reliability, testing and certification services.

As a result, the center will allow solar manufacturers to develop, test and certify their solar products and begin pilot production, while lowering customers' development costs and accelerating time to market and time to revenue.

Equipment manufacturer Roth & Rau AG is providing a 5 MW capacity turnkey silicon wafer solar cell manufacturing line for the center, ideally sized for pilot production. Based in Germany, where the solar industry is well established, Roth & Rau is a leading producer of processing and automation equipment for solar cell production. It will use the Center as its North American demonstration showroom.

Meanwhile, JA Solar ( http://www.jasolar.com ), a China-based manufacturer of high-performance silicon wafer solar cells, has signed a letter of intent to locate its North American research and development operations in the Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center.

JA Solar sells its products to solar module manufacturers globally who assemble and integrate the company's solar cells into modules and systems that convert sunlight into electricity.

SVTC Technologies

Weitere Infos: SVPDC

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