Moser Baer to set up the world's largest thin-film solar fab

05 March 2007

Moser Baer India Ltd today announced that it would set up the world's largest thin-film solar fab to achieve new cost benchmarks. It has entered into a technology partnership with the US-based Applied Materials, Inc, the global leader in nano manufacturing technology solutions for the electronics industry.

The tie-up would allow Moser Baer acquire to acquire a first-mover advantage in the manufacture of large area thin-film modules, which are ideal for energy farms, rural applications and building integrated photovoltaic markets.

Photovoltaic modules based on large area thin-film technology bring cost parity between generation and grid power.

The technology partnership will enable a synergy between Moser Baer India's manufacturing and technology strength, its European R&D lab and Applied Material, Inc's process and equipment development expertise.

The combined capabilities of the two companies bring scale economies to this industry by manufacturing thin film modules that are four times larger than current modules, making it a disruptive technology that provides a road map to sub-dollar per watt costs.

According to market estimates, the thin-film based solar modules will see large emerging applications and a robust demand that is expected to grow ten fold; from 250 MW currently to 2GW with a market size of $ 5 billion by 2010.