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Interview
information technology and business
process solutions.
Moser Baer Photovoltaic Ltd. is now
the world’s first manufacturer to
implement Applied Materials SunFab
thin film line for the mass-production
of solar modules. Would you like to tell
us how you acquired your first SunFab
customer in India?
India holds tremendous potential as a
center for solar panel production and as
a large end market for PV electric power.
India’s manufacturing capability is based
on a strong technical community which is
reflected by Moser Baer. The company has
a long history of success, having developed
cutting edge technologies to become the
world’s second largest manufacturer of
optical storage media formats like bluray
discs and HD DVD. Like Applied,
the company has transformed itself
into a multi-technology organization,
with products for solar energy, home
entertainment and IT peripherals and
consumer electronics.
How do you see solar market trends
over the next few years in India?
Although India ranks sixth in the world
in terms of power generation with an
installed capacity of 147,000 MW, it still
faces a shortage of power. Solar PV is a
proven technology to address this shortage.
The solar industry stands to create an
entire ecosystem which will create demand
for solar cells, modules and systems and
serve as an economic engine as well as a
solution to our energy concerns. Applied
predicts that there is a huge potential
for India to take the lead position in
the solar segment. The Government of
India, for instance, has recently released
semiconductor policy that gives incentives
and subsidies to manufacturing units. This
has generated interest in manufacturing
in India. Many state governments are also
enable ease of investments.
The solar industry in India is also
seeing many new players. The growth
through harnessing solar power in India is
leading venture capitalists to look favorably
at potential start-ups.
India has a favorable technological
landscape for solar power as well. Though
crystalline solar represents the largest
market share, thin film technology,
according to Navigant Consulting,
represented 14% of the market in 2008,
up from 5% in 2004. Thin film technology
will continue to experience rapid growth
over the next five years, due in part to its
versatility and its potential to reduce costs
significantly.
The solar applications in rural areas
will also see tremendous growth potential
as solar lamps provide an alternative to
kerosene.
We also foresee more installations of
solar PV for small, medium and large off
grid applications. At Applied Materials we
are striving towards all PV technologies so
as to make India’s solar dream come true.
Amorphous silicon has always been
hampered in the market place by its
low efficiency; still it is the dominant
thin film PV (TFPV) technology used
today. What are your views on other
competing technologies like CIGS and
CdTe?
Amorphous silicon is dominant in the
market due to its maturity. This is an
advantage for companies who want to
enter the thin-film PV business have
manufacturing equipment and materials
are readily available in the market.
According to a report released by
Nanomarkets, cadmium telluride (CdTe)
will be the single largest segment of
the TFPV market by 2015. CdTe has
many advantages such as a high optical
absorption coefficient and a band gap
that has been described as close to perfect
for PV. Also, many of the environmental
concerns that have been associated with
CdTe in the past seem to be dissipating.
However CdTe still remains only about
10.7% efficient.
On the other hand, CIGS is cost
effective and it promises to combine all
the advantages of thin film with higher
conversion efficiencies approaching
those of conventional crystalline PV. The
technology has however, outstanding
manufacturing challenges
Since different cells have different
applications to say technologies such as
CIGS or CdTe will take precedence over
Amorphous silicon will be a premature
comment at this stage.
Applied Materials will remain
committed to developing products for
our customers based on their prevailing
technology needs. We recognize the
advantages of amorphous silicon as a low
cost material which is nontoxic and in
abundant supply. In addition to the low
cost, amorphous silicon has achieved 8%
efficiency in volume production today with
a clear path towards 10% by 2010.
In view of the considerable fall in the
silicon prices globally, don’t you think
TFPV is losing its price advantage too
early? When do you think the impact
of innovative approaches in the TFPV
landscape be felt, possibly organic PV
and dye sensitive cells?
According to Nanomarkets, The thinfilm
photovoltaic (TFPV) market will
produce the equivalent of 26 gigawatts
(GW) by 2015 and will generate well over
$20 billion in revenues in that same time
frame.
The fact that thin-film technology is
going down the cost curve only signifies
gaining manufacturing excellence.
Amorphous silicon based photovoltaic
is slated to dominate the TFPV space for
several years to come with $1.3 billion in
revenues this year that will grow to $4.1
billion in the year 2014.
TF modules especially Applied’s
5.7m2 module have an advantage
over cSi modules in that they are not
space constrained. Unlike cSi modules,
TF modules are ideal for residential,
commercial and utility scale applications.
How is Applied Materials planning to
maintain its position as the leader in
developing advanced technologies?
Applied Materials with its leadership in
chip equipment will apply its engineering
expertise to the solar industry. Reducing
the cost per watt for thin film module
manufacturing will make a significant
impact on cost for solar energy
development.
Applied Materials is dedicated to
reduce the cost by relying on the benefits
of its large-scale manufacturing expertise
in the semiconductor segment and by
employing its engineering and technical
expertise to bring down the production
cost.
Applied Materials’ strong emphasis on
innovation has enabled its customers to
reach out globally. The company was also
named as the world’s largest supplier of
photovoltaic cell manufacturing equipment
in 2008 by VLSI Research.
Foresight combined with innovative
technology is the strength Applied
Materials will rely on to emerge as a
stronger leader in all of our markets when
the economic environment improves.
Dr. Atre, many thanks for talking to us today.
www.globalsolartechnology.com Global Solar Technology – July/August 2009 – 19