BOC India Wins Four Long-Term PV Gas Supply Deals
BOC India has won four long-term gas supply deals with leading members of India's PV manufacturing community.
Alexander Braun, Senior Editor -- PV Society, 11/10/2009
BOC India (BOCI), a member of The Linde Group, won four long-term gas supply deals with large PV manufacturers: Moser Baer, Euro Multivision, Solar Semiconductor and Indo Solar (formally Phoenix Solar).
Gases are critical to solar cell production, and can account for up to 20% of the total cost of thin-film silicon manufacturing. These deals with BOCI come at a time when India readies to unveil its first solar power target aimed at boosting output from near zero to 20 GW by 2020, firming up its national plan to fight global warming through the development of alternative energy sources and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. India's solar manufacturing clusters are mainly in the north (Delhi and Noida) and the south (Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai).
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BOC India plans to expand its gas supply infrastructure in India. (Source: The Linde Group) |
For Moser Baer's first PV production unit in Greater Noida, India, BOCI has created one of the largest supply plans for industrial gases for electronics manufacturing throughout South and East Asia. In addition to the on-site manufacturing of critical gases, BOCI's partnership with Moser Baer includes a focus on employing technology solutions to optimize gas usage as well as India's first on-site total gas management (TGM) service.
For Indo Solar's first crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell manufacturing plant in India, also in Greater Noida, BOCI is its exclusive supplier of bulk nitrogen (N2), silane (SiH4) and other specialty gases. BOCI will provide a full TGM service and install the distribution and monitoring systems required for safe and reliable supply of these gases to the manufacturing facility. In Phase One, Indo Solar will have an annual cell capacity of 160 MW, which will ramp up by an additional 200 MW in Phase Two, expected to be completed at year's end.
In Hyderabad, BOCI will pioneer the development of a gas supply infrastructure in conjunction with the first large PV investment. Solar Semiconductor's new c-Si cell plant in Fab City has an initial capacity of 30 MW, expected to ramp to 120 MW by 2010. BOCI also plans to further expand its gas and chemical infrastructure there, to support future investments.
In Gujarat, BOCI is working with Euro Multivision to supply bulk and special gas to its new 40 MW crystalline cell manufacturing facility in Kutch.
