News Article
IQE & Solar Junction to pump up the volume of solar cells in 2013
The deal with Solar Junction, which produces 44 percent efficiency III-V wafers, should position IQE to become one of the key epiwafer suppliers to the CPV market
IQE has made significant progress in its commercial relationship with Solar Junction.
In February 2012, IQE announced an exclusive manufacturing and technology transfer agreement with Solar Junction and laid out a series of goals.
These milestones were in order to deliver full 3Junction (3J) structures to Solar Junction based on successful installation and commissioning of customised production scale MBE tools, and subsequent technology transfer from Solar Junction.
Completion of this was planned for the fourth quarter of 2012.
IQE and Solar Junction have together delivered full 3J wafers. Commercial production is expected to begin in the first half of 2013, initially with customer product qualification quantities, moving to volume production in the second half of the year.
Independently, Solar Junction has successfully qualified its cells to full IEC specifications with several customers, and is strongly engaged with all leading CPV systems houses.
Drew Nelson, IQE Chief Executive, says, “Our deal with Solar Junction earlier this year will significantly accelerate our well established CPV strategy and position us to become the key epiwafer supplier to the CPV market. The combination of Solar Junction’s core materials IP and technology, with its recently improved world record efficiencies of 44 percent, together with our own IP and manufacturing capabilities, provides a compelling route to significantly higher cell efficiency and cost effective, high volume production for the CPV industry."
“That combination is now all but complete and we are on track to move to commercial volume production during 2013. As we approach the end of our financial year, we are also confident that we will meet our earnings expectations. The transformational deals completed with Solar Junction and RFMD earlier this year are highly complementary and position the Group for accelerating growth in rapidly expanding markets,” adds Nelson.
In February 2012, IQE announced an exclusive manufacturing and technology transfer agreement with Solar Junction and laid out a series of goals.
These milestones were in order to deliver full 3Junction (3J) structures to Solar Junction based on successful installation and commissioning of customised production scale MBE tools, and subsequent technology transfer from Solar Junction.
Completion of this was planned for the fourth quarter of 2012.
IQE and Solar Junction have together delivered full 3J wafers. Commercial production is expected to begin in the first half of 2013, initially with customer product qualification quantities, moving to volume production in the second half of the year.
Independently, Solar Junction has successfully qualified its cells to full IEC specifications with several customers, and is strongly engaged with all leading CPV systems houses.
Drew Nelson, IQE Chief Executive, says, “Our deal with Solar Junction earlier this year will significantly accelerate our well established CPV strategy and position us to become the key epiwafer supplier to the CPV market. The combination of Solar Junction’s core materials IP and technology, with its recently improved world record efficiencies of 44 percent, together with our own IP and manufacturing capabilities, provides a compelling route to significantly higher cell efficiency and cost effective, high volume production for the CPV industry."
“That combination is now all but complete and we are on track to move to commercial volume production during 2013. As we approach the end of our financial year, we are also confident that we will meet our earnings expectations. The transformational deals completed with Solar Junction and RFMD earlier this year are highly complementary and position the Group for accelerating growth in rapidly expanding markets,” adds Nelson.
