Applied Opens Solar Research and Customer Demo Facility in China
Applied Materials Inc. opened the Solar Technology Center, an advanced solar R&D facility, in Xi'an, China. It is the largest non-government solar energy research facility in the world.
Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor -- PV Society, 10/26/2009
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Applied Materials opened the world's largest solar R&D and customer demonstration facility in Xi'an, China. It houses crystalline silicon and SunFab thin-film pilot production lines. (Photo: Business Wire) |
Applied Materials Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) opened an advanced solar research and demonstration facility in Xi'an, China. The Solar Technology Center, the largest non-government solar energy research facility in the world, is comprised of laboratory and office buildings covering >37,160 m2 and contains an entire Applied SunFab thin-film manufacturing line and a complete crystalline silicon pilot process. These lines are configured to closely simulate customer fab environments.
The company is celebrating its 25th anniversary in China this year, and has >800 employees and 13 offices in the country, with ~300 employees in Xi'an.
Total investment in this multi-phase project is >$250M. The completed facility includes a solar technology center for R&D, engineering, product demonstration, testing and training for crystalline silicon and thin-film solar module manufacturing equipment and processes. Employees in the center will work closely with local suppliers to test and qualify new materials and tools, and evaluate potential new cost-saving technologies. The center has the largest solar array in Xi'an, a 56 kW array on a parking lot structure.
The facility is considered a breakthrough for the photovoltaics industry and China, as well as beneficial to customers, and is expected to provide technical contributions to drive down the cost of solar around the world while improving factory productivity and cell efficiency. Mike Splinter, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials, indicated that the new center in China is an integral part of the company's global strategy and an important step toward the industrialization of the global solar industry.
Xi'an is located in Shaanxi province in northwest China, and is a growing center of energy technology. The province boasts >40 colleges and universities, and Xi'an is recognized as a leading high-tech research area in the country.
Applied has worked closely with local governments, contributed to research and awarded 166 university scholarships since 2005 through an R&D fund with the Xi'an Municipal Science and Technology Commission and Xi'an High Tech Park.
