News Article
Calyxo boosts CdTe solar capacity to 85 MW
The German firm expects to own the largest cadmium telluride solar module facility in Europe by the end of 2012
Calyxo is investing in a second production line with a capacity of 60 MW at its home facility in Bitterfeld, Wolfen.
The firm currently operates a 25 MWp production line with over 150 employees at the manufacturing plant in Germany and will ramp the total capacity at the end of 2012 to 85 MW.
The capital for the expansion will be provided by a bank loan and cash contributions from the technology inventor Solar Fields, LLC, who took over ownership of Calyxo in February 2011 from its former partner Q-Cells SE. Solar Fields invented the technology while a resident at the University of Toledo Incubation Centre.
“Based on recent good results in production with modules of 80 Wp and higher we decided to increase the capacity of our the low-cost atmospheric deposition process. We are confident, that Calyxo will reach costs clearly below 0,8 USD/Wp end of 2012 and that a CdTe production in the core of Europe will make sense for our customers”, says Florian Holzapfel, CEO.
The production line will produce the 2011-introduced CX3 product, which was especially designed for hot and humid environments and differentiates substantially from competing CdTe offerings, ensuring long-term stable energy output even under extreme conditions.
Calyxo CX module
In these conditions, installation of the same size (MWp or KWp) with the Calyxo technology can provide up to 10% more energy than crystalline installations, driven by the superior temperature behaviour of Calyxo modules. "Recently we have published data showing the excellent performance and stability of the Calyxo product under hot and humid conditions based on our unique laminate design" adds Michael Bauer, Calyxo's CTO.
These advances will lead to midterm production costs of less than 0.50 USD/Wp which may be the lowest in the world. Costs this low allow for an LCOE forecast of less than 0.10 USD/KWh for electricity generated by Calyxo PV systems.
Based on current market information, Calyxo believes it is going to be the only meaningful CdTe producer in Europe from 2013 on. Besides the anticipated growth, Calyxo will keep the complete set of services open for all customers (simulations, project design, planning, installation and after sales services).
