Corporate | 21 March 2013 10:31


Manz AG: Chinese reference project features CIGS solar modules from Manz


Manz AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

21.03.2013 / 10:31


Chinese reference project features CIGS solar modules from Manz

CIGS thin film modules from the Manz innovation line now installed in China's Shilin Town Solar Park

Reference project has the potential to convince prospective customers of the advantages of CIGSfab

Competitive advantage through stable module efficiency of more than 13% in mass production

Reutlingen, 21 March 2013 – Manz AG, one of the world's leading high-tech engineering companies with an extensive technology portfolio covering the strategic divisions 'Display', 'Solar' and 'Battery', is demonstrating the excellent quality standards of its own CIGSfab production line with the installation of thin film modules. The modules were produced on the CIGS innovation line at the company's research site in Schwäbisch-Hall, which was taken over by Manz from Würth Solar at the start of 2012. 'Now that the Solar Park in Shilin Town has been commissioned, we can demonstrate the advantages of CIGS technology and the excellent manufacturing quality of our machines in practice. We are highly optimistic that we will also be able to convince interested solar cell producers of the benefits of our CIGSfab. Our aim in 2013 is to consistently exploit the potential that the solar market offers us,' declared Dieter Manz, founder and CEO of Manz.

The Manz modules installed in China have a nominal capacity of one Megawatt. The solar energy project in Shilin Town in China's south western province Yunnan is currently the largest CIGS module solar park feeding power into the Chinese grid. The investor is Beijing Sanglin Lantian Ltd. Co., a company which focuses among other interests on the planning and realisation of renewable energy generation projects. Mr. Xiao-Yi Wang, President and shareholder of the Solar Park, commented: 'In comparison with the crystalline solar modules already installed, the Manz CIGS solar modules yield up to 10% more. That is an absolutely decisive figure which underscores sustainably the immense potential of this technology and impressively demonstrates the benefits of the favourable temperature coefficients of CIGS in the almost subtropical climate of Yunnan.' Dieter Manz added: 'In terms of efficiency, in recent months we have made a great step forward. Now, in mass production we reach more than 13% on a stable basis. This has so far been unequalled anywhere else in the world, and strengthens our market position to participate in the coming investment cycle in the solar industry.' Beijing Sanglin Lantian Ltd. Co has had the modules installed in the open landscape, integrated into buildings and in roof-mounted configuration.

Chinese government relies on CIGS
The Chinese government, too, sees clear advantages in the use of CIGS technology which has been adopted as a focus of research in its 12th five-year plan. CIGS modules achieve a significantly higher degree of efficiency than other thin-film modules. At the same time, production costs are significantly lower than for crystalline solar cells. The reason for this is that in the case of CIGS modules, the semiconductor layer that absorbs sunlight is in large part composed of low-cost copper and is less than two microns thick – around one hundredth of a crystalline solar cell. Producing thin film modules based on glass substrates also obviates the costly manufacture of silicon wafers, as well as the need to interconnect each individual cell.

CIGSfab turnkey production line
The Manz CIGSfab makes it possible to produce high-efficiency thin film modules at economic cost level. Dependent on location, thin film solar modules manufactured on the integrated CIGS production line will in future be able to supply energy at a cost of between just 4 euro cents (Spain) and 8 euro cents (Germany) per kilowatt hour. This puts solar electricity on a par with electricity generated from fossil fuels, and well below the cost of power generated by offshore wind farms. In addition to the complete machinery, Manz also provides the know-how required for module production. Therefore, Manz also allows new entrants to the solar market to rapidly ramp up local production of solar modules in the growth markets of the future.

Photos in print resolution are available at Manz AG, abartmann@manz.com

Company profile:

Manz AG – passion for efficiency

Manz AG, headquartered in Reutlingen, Germany, is one of the world's leading high-tech engineering firms. Founded in 1987, in recent years the company has grown from an automation specialist into a supplier of integrated production lines. Manz has expertise in six fields of technology: automation, laser processes, vacuum coating, screen printing, metrology, and wet-chemical processes. These technologies are used and developed in three strategic business areas: Display, Solar, and Battery.

The company, led by founder Dieter Manz, has been listed on the stock exchange in Germany since 2006, and currently develops and manufactures in Germany, China, Taiwan, Israel, Slovakia, and Hungary. Manz also has sales and service offices in the United States, South Korea, and India. At the beginning of 2013, Manz AG had approximately 1,850 employees, half of them in Asia. With its slogan, 'Passion for Efficiency', Manz's engineers are making a promise to offer its customers – all companies active in important future markets – increasingly efficient production equipment. As an engineering firm, the company plays a significant role in reducing the cost of manufacturing end products, making these products available to large groups of buyers worldwide.

Investor Relations Contact

cometis AG
Ulrich Wiehle / Claudius Krause
Tel.: +49 (0)611 – 205855-28
Fax: +49 (0)611 – 205855-66
E-Mail: krause@cometis.de

Public Relations Contact

Manz AG
Axel Bartmann
Tel.: +49 (0)7121 – 9000-395
Fax: +49 (0)7121 – 9000-99
E-Mail: abartmann@manz.com



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Language: English
Company: Manz AG
Steigäckerstr. 5
72768 Reutlingen
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 7121 9000-0
Fax: +49 (0) 7121 9000-99
E-mail: info@manz.com
Internet: http://www.manz.com
ISIN: DE000A0JQ5U3
WKN: A0JQ5U
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service

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