Q-Cells thin-film venture ships first panels

Solibro GmbH said today it started shipping its first copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film panels, after two years operating as a joint venture of Q-Cells (Frankfurt: QCE.F) and Solibro AB from Uppsala, Sweden.

Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany-based Q-Cells, the world's largest solar maker (see Q-Cells to expand with factory in Malaysia), recently announced plans to expand Solibro's Bitterfeld-Wolfen factory by the end of the fourth quarter 2009. The current production line of 30 megawatt peak of solar modules is planned to reach 45 MWp, and a second Solibro line will add 90 MWp.

Solibro says it has signed supply contracts for nearly all its current production with companies including HaWi Energietechnik GmbH, Sunova AG, Geckologic GmbH, thermovolt AG and Sunset Energietechnik GmbH. Solibro says it produces panels with 11 percent efficiency.

Q-Cells bought 67.5 percent of the manufacturer in November 2006 for €4 million and an additional €20 million to reach technological milestones (see Q-Cells fond of CIGS). Q-Cells said at the time it planned to invest €60 million on expansion.

San Jose, Calif.-based Nanosolar was the first company to market with CIGS solar panels in December 2007 (see Nanosolar starts shipping its first thin-film panels). The company said last week it raised more than $300 million to expand its factories' capacity, and later that day Colorado's AVA Solar said it raised $104 million to finish building its 200 MW facility (see Nanosolar grabs $300 million for utility solar and AVA Solar joins thin-film funding flood with $104M).

In other thin-film news, Toledo, Ohio-based Xunlight said Monday it raised $11 million for its flexible thin-film silicon solar modules.