Roth & Rau Makes Inroads Into China With CdTe Technology
With a new joint-venture agreement with an unnamed Chinese company, Roth & Rau will first build a CdTe solar module plant in Germany, which will serve as a reference plant for future operations in China.
Aaron Hand, Editor-in-Chief -- PV Society, 2/4/2010
Roth & Rau AG (Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany) has made a further move into CdTe thin-film PV, signing a joint-venture agreement, along with subsidiary Roth & Rau CTF Solar GmbH (CTF), with an unnamed Chinese company. The JV sets out an agreement for the construction and operation of systems to manufacture CdTe solar modules in China.
As a first step, the venture will build an 80 MW plant in Brandenburg, Germany to manufacture CdTe solar modules on a turnkey line from CTF. This will serve as a reference plant for future operations in China, according to Roth & Rau. Although the terms for supplying the turnkey line to the joint venture are still to be negotiated, the order is expected to be worth almost €100 million ($137.66M).
For the operation of the specimen plant, Roth & Rau and its contract partner will initially found a joint venture company in which Roth & Rau will hold a 49% share of the capital, and will contribute €19.6 million ($26.97M) to the new company's capital reserve. Roth & Rau will have the opportunity to hold a 32% stake in the China-based plants that are subsequently developed, and will be the preferred supplier for equipping the Chinese plants with turnkey lines.
Dietmar Roth, CEO of Roth & Rau AG
Roth & Rau made its initial entry into the CdTe thin-film solar space last February, when it acquired CTF Solar GmbH (Kelkheim, Germany). "This joint venture represents a further milestone, coming as it does less than a year after our takeover of CTF Solar GmbH, which provided us with substantial expertise for our strategic entry into CdTe technology," said Dietmar Roth, CEO of Roth & Rau AG. "By setting up a reference production site in Brandenburg, we aim to prove the competitiveness of our new CdTe technology line and expand our market position in the thin-film business."
The agreement is subject to approval by the Chinese partner, the supervisory board of Roth & Rau AG, the Federal Antitrust Office, and relevant Chinese authorities for foreign investments.
