wafer manufacturing

The stage is set for the emergence of an ultra-low-cost PV industry based on epitaxial solar wafers and other highly scalable, high-efficiency technologies, writes Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe.

Solar wafer manufacturer Shangji Automation has signed a supply deal worth RMB5.91 billion (US$856 million) and has launched a large-scale fundraising project to accelerate its capacity expansion.

Solar equipment manufacturer Linton Crystal Technologies has made an initial investment of US$10 million to build a solar manufacturing equipment facility in the US.

Prices of various categories of silicon material have increased by 31%, in part due to increased demand from wafer manufacturers.

CubicPV, a US solar manufacturer backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, is looking to leverage support included in the country’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to set up what it claims will be the largest PV wafer manufacturing facility outside of China.

CSI Solar has announced plans to expand its solar and battery storage manufacturing capacity in China, through an investment agreement with the municipal government of Yangzhou City in Jiangsu Province.

LONGi has drawn PV industry attention and speculation after revealing plans for a large-scale wafer and cell manufacturing expansion.

Trina Solar US has announced that its 6.5GW PV wafer manufacturing facility in Vietnam specifically designated to supply the US market will be online in mid-2023.

A group of key stakeholders in the PV industry has called for measures for a competitive domestic European PV upstream value chain.

Qcells has announced plans for a fully integrated US solar manufacturing supply chain, aiming to manufacture solar ingots and wafers in the country as well as expand its module supply capacity.