Sanyo to open lab to create low-cost solar cells
Osaka, Dec 05, 2007
Source: Kyodo News International /TradingMarkets.com
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/886717/
Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday it will open a lab inside its Gifu Prefecture semiconductor plant in April to develop next-generation, thin-film solar cells requiring a very small amount of silicon. By utilizing the company’s semiconductor expertise, the lab, named Advanced Photovoltaics Development Center, will be used to create solar cells whose power generation costs are comparable to regular home utility rates, according to the Osaka-based manufacturer.
At present, it costs about 250-300 yen to generate one watt of electricity when solar cells are used. The company wants to lower this amount to 150 yen by 2012. Sanyo plans to invest some 6 billion yen in the facility for three years after its establishment.
The new solar cells will become Sanyo’s third-generation of solar power products. The company’s first-generation offering — amorphous silicon solar cells — hit the market in 1980. The second-generation, Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-Layer, or HIT, cells composed of crystalline silicon wafers and thin amorphous silicon layers, debuted in 1997. The lab will start out with 30 engineers, rising to 50 at an early date. It is expected to collaborate with universities and other research organizations.