News

4 December 2006

Honda establishes Soltec CIGS solar cell subsidiary

Honda Motor Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan has invested 4bn yen in establishing a subsidiary, Honda Soltec Co Ltd, to produce and sell copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells, representing Honda's full-scale
entry into the solar cell industry.

The solar cell was developed by Honda's production engineering subsidiary, Honda Engineering Co Ltd, which will produce CIGS solar cells for sale by Honda Soltec in limited areas starting from next March.

However, at the end of September Honda Motor Co Ltd began construction of a 7bn yen, 11,080m2 plant to mass produce the solar cells within its Kumamoto factory's current site. The new plant will become operational in autumn 2007 with staffing of about 150 and an annual capacity of 27.5MW. Honda Soltec will then expand sales throughout Japan, the company says.

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