17 October 2012

Saint-Gobain signs MOU to build and operate a CIGS PV module manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia

Saint-Gobain of Courbevoie, France (which designs, makes and distributes building materials and electronic materials), represented by Jean-Pierre Floris, senior vice-president and president of the Innovative Materials Sector, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with HRH Prince Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to set up a high-tech company in the solar energy sector in Saudi Arabia. The signing ceremony was held in Torgau, Germany, where Saint-Gobain's Avancis affiliate operates a thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module plant.

Saint-Gobain will provide technical assistance and engineering expertise to build and operate a CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, selenide) thin-film PV module manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. The firm says that the strategic alliance will lay the foundation for other solar businesses, and will accelerate the development of solar power plants equipped with modules manufactured in Saudi Arabia using Avancis CIGS technology.

Fully aligned with the strategic priorities of K.A.CARE (the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy), the program’s target is to install 41GWp of solar power by 2032, of which 16GWp should be contributed by PV power generation.

Based on depositing CIGS thin films on a glass substrate, the technology developed by Avancis avoids using traditional crystalline silicon, enabling low production costs, while its electrical efficiency (over 12% industrially and up to 20% in laboratory) is comparable to the higher yields produced by polycrystalline silicon modules, says the firm.

Tags: Saint-Gobain Avancis CIGS

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