China Solar Power Enters Thin Film Solar Cell Market in China by Forging Strategic Alliance with ULVAC, Inc. of Japan

 China Solar Power (Holdings) Ltd., a subsidiary of Tano China Capital Management, Inc. (TCCMI), a private equity investment management company focusing on Chinese companies and industries, has entered the thin film solar cell market in China by partnering with ULVAC, Inc. of Japan. ULVAC is a leading solar cell production equipment manufacturer headquartered in Chigasaki, Japan. ULVAC’s President and CEO is Mr. Hidenori Suwa. TCCMI’s Managing Directors are Messrs. Charles E. Johnson and Chi-Jen Frank Liu.

ULVAC, CSP and its affiliate Tano China Private Equity Fund II signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement in Chigasaki on October 17, 2007. The objective of the Strategic Alliance is to collaborate to enhance ULVAC’s position as a leading provider of thin film photovoltaic (PV) production lines worldwide and CSP’s position as the leading thin film solar cell manufacturer in China. CSP has selected Yantai, in Shandong Province in Northwest China as the site of its first manufacturing facilities.

The PV Production Lines supplied by ULVAC utilize Generation 5 (G5) sized glass substrates (1100 x 1400 mm) designed for full-scale solar power generation plants. The lines are first of a kind large-sized manufacturing lines to be produced in China for the Chinese and worldwide markets. The plant will initially produce modules based on single junction amorphous silicon (a-Si) technology with an annual capacity of about 50 MW. CSP will quickly transition the production lines to produce tandem junction modules with a higher-efficiency rating. The annual capacity for the line with the higher efficiency module is expected to increase from 50 MW to approximately 64MW in 2010.

The lines will incorporate plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) equipment, laser scribers, sputtering equipment and encapsulation equipment. ULVAC will install and commission the production lines at CSP’s Yantai plant and train CSP’s operations personnel.

ULVAC has invested approximately 3,000 million yen ($28 million USD) to set up a new thin film solar cell manufacturing demonstration line utilizing G5 size substrates at its Chigasaki headquarters. ULVAC’s demonstration line can manufacture and evaluate a-Si thin film solar cells as well as a-Si/?-c Si tandem structure thin film solar cells stacked with ?-c Si films. The latter generates higher power generation efficiency of at least 9%.

Since the early 1980s, ULVAC has supplied manufacturing equipment for solar cells largely to domestic Japanese companies. Since 1990, Flat Panel Display (FPD) manufacturing equipment technology and in particular TFT-LCD technology, has rapidly evolved and added value to solar cell manufacturing equipment. This has led to greatly increased market demand worldwide for solar cell manufacturing lines. ULVAC has supplied not only the solar cell manufacturing lines but also installation and commissioning of the lines and training for customer personnel.