ersol Solar and Bosch: Perfect together?

What is the fate of ersol Thin Film?

Way back on June 2, 2008, the Agreement between Ventizz and Bosch regarding sale of majority stake in ersol (Deutsch) or Bosch plans to acquire majority stake in ersol Solar Energy AG Activities in the photovoltaics field (Deutsch) announced the sale of Ventizz Capital Fund II LP, Wilmington, Delaware, USA, and its subsidiary Ventizz II Jersey Holding LP, Jersey, Channel Islands, 50.45% stake in ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) to Robert Bosch GmbH, and Bosch’s plan to tender € 101.0 per share in cash for the outstanding shares. Please see this Financial Times article, “Bosch in €1.1bn solar power bid”, for the details.

Unlike the Ventizz Funds minority investment discussed in ersol Thin Film: solar (conflict?) at work, this press release discloses Dr. Helmut Vorndran had a dual role as:

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ersol AG and Management Board spokesman of Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG, which has acted as a consultant to the fund for this transaction.

“Is Ersol Solar Worth $1.67B?” asks Rachel Barron at Greentech Media.

Via the June 11, 2008, Industry Note, “Intersolar Field Trip Day 2; Ersol Meeting Confirms Positive Industry Trends”, Sr. Research Analyst Jesse Pichel and his Piper Jaffray & Co. Team:

learned that Bosch was not the only bidder for Ersol as several fortune 1000 companies have a longer term perspective of solar. Bosch valued Ersol's vertical integration, secure polysilicon supply contracts, and contractual base for significant expansion.

The Annual press conference and analyst conference presentation financial year results 2007 detailed ersol plans to expand silicon solar cell capacity from 180 MWp (MegaWatt-peak) in 2007 to 550MWp in 2012 fed by polysilicon sourced from Wacker Chemie AG, Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation, and the NITOL Group along with wafers from an unnamed Japanese manufacturer.

In addition, I suspect Bosch preferred ersol’s approach of not entering the systems business in their coverage of the solar value chain.

While Bosch hopes to extend its business in the area of renewable energies with the acquisition of ersol, I have to wonder if there is also a defensive aspect to this takeover. The Bosch Group is organized into three business sectors: Automotive Technology, Industrial Technology, and Consumer Goods and Building Technology. In 2007, Automotive Technology generated 61% or €28.4 billion of the Bosch Group’s €46.32 billion turnover. With Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) dominating auto industry news amid record oil prices, photovoltaics are sure to be welcome as options to extend the range or power auxiliary systems on electric vehicles. In the near term, high efficiency, monocrystalline, silicon solar cells are best suited to maximize power generation from the limited area available on automobiles. Although the primary reason for the Bosch takeover may be diversification, there are synergies with their existing business sectors.

For example, Sunways AG (FRA:SWW) partnered with Webasto Solar GmbH to produce solar sunroofs for cars using monocrystalline silicon solar cells. The solar sunroofs are used to power an interior car fan even when parked and is optional or standard equipment in select Audi, Lancia, Mercedes, and VW automobiles. Alas, Sunways may not have had the secured production scale to attract Bosch’s favor, and the Sunways inverter and MHH Solartechnik system businesses may not have been seen as complementary.

And what of ersol Thin Film GmbH? I got a quick confirmation from ersol Investor Relations that the sale of the Ventizz stake includes their minority investment in ersol Thin Film per ersol paves the way for growth for its Thin Film unit. ersol Thin Film plans to increase production capacity to 100 MWp in 2009 and 200 MWp in 2011 depending on the successful joint development of micromorph tandem thin film production technology with SCHOTT Solar (please see ersol Thin Film and SCHOTT Solar forge alliance for the joint development of micromorphous thin-film technology).

In the same Industry Note cited above, Mr. Pichel said the following about ersol Thin Film:

• Ersol remains the leading Oerlikon customer in thin-film and believes it has solved big technical challenges and expects TUV certification in a few weeks on its 85 watt panels at ~6% efficiency, tandem structure is in development.
• The company anticipates thin film cost/watt to remain below that of polycrystalline offset by lower ASP.
• Material (TCO coated glass) remains the biggest cost component followed by depreciation and labor. The company can save on glass by coating in house.
• Capex ranges from Euro 2.0/watt for 6% efficiency to Euro 2.3 - 2.5/watt for 8 – 9% efficiency.
• Ersol believes that the price of its thin film panels can remain Euro 0.50 below that of crystalline's cost curve long term thanks to scale, efficiency, throughput, and other cost saving factors.

The ersol Thin Film Nova^®-T 80 amorphous silicon (a-Si) module datasheet appears to have been released back in April 2008. I have been requesting this datasheet since the post, Oerlikon solar at work: Intersolar 2007! I calculated the implied Nova-T series efficiencies as shown in the following table:

Power, Watt-peak (Wp)	70	75	80	85
Efficiency	4.90%	5.24%	5.59%	5.94%

These a-Si modules binned out 5 Wp (Watt-peak) less than expected, and the efficiencies are about half those of equivalent wattage First Solar production modules. A limitation notes “Transformerless inverters are not permitted.” By coincidence, Sunways claimed to have solved the issue earlier this year in “Transformerless inverters can now also be combined with thin-film modules.”

Despite the above limitations, ersol Thin Film signs module supply contract with Ralos Vertriebs GmbH (Deutsch) was the recent news of a 40 MWp supply contract for Nova-T modules delivered from 2008 to 2010 with Ralos Vertriebs GmbH.

Mr. Pichel also said:

We believe pending Bosch acquisition of Ersol may signal beginning of industry consolidation.

Perhaps this deal =is= a prelude to increased merger and acquisition activity in the photovoltaic space, but this deal does not result in significant photovoltaic consolidation just because Bosch has an existing investment matched by BASF Venture Capital GmbH in the organic thin film photovoltaics start-up, Heliatek GmbH, per German government and industry boost new technology, Using thin films to generate inexpensive solar power.

In the ersol version of the Bosch deal press release (Deutsch), Dr. Claus Beneking, CEO of ersol Solar Energy AG, announced plans to retire from the Management Board of ersol AG for personal reasons in the next few months and just before ersol's workforce passes the thousand mark (Deutsch). Dr. Beneking “will remain closely associated with the company and continue to be available for some years as a consultant.” This may have provided additional motivation for a takeover deal that Q-Cells AG or SolarWorld AG, for example, are too busy executing on 1 GWp (GigaWatt-peak) plus photovoltaic visions to even consider.

ersol Thin Film: solar (conflict?) at work

Ventizz Capital Funds acquire a minority stake in ersol Thin Film GmbH.
Co-founders of Ventizz Capital Partners are also the ersol Supervisory Board Chairman and Vice Chairman.

ersol paves the way for growth for its Thin Film unit (Deutsch) was the latest revelation in the ersol Thin Film drama announced on Monday, February 4, 2008. The ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) press release said:

Ventizz Capital Fund III LP, Delaware and Ventizz Capital Fund IV LP, Jersey (Ventizz) signed a contract on the holding of Ventizz in ersol Thin Film GmbH, Erfurt, which has been approved by the Supervisory Board of ersol today. Ventizz will acquire a minority stake of nearly 50% in ersol Thin Film GmbH by way of a cash capital increase. ersol will retain the managerial responsibility.

Since both Ventizz Capital Fund III LP, Delaware and Ventizz Capital Fund IV LP, Jersey are private equity funds launched and advised by Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG, it is unclear if ersol shares were in effect sold from one Ventizz fund to another. Nonetheless, ersol Thin Film GmbH obtained a €48 million increase in equity capital and access to additional Ventizz partner loans. The transaction values the ersol Thin Film subsidiary at about €100 million.

ersol Thin Film will invest the capital in capacity expansion and micromorph tandem module production equipment upgrades.

Who is Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG? Although this is the Ventizz Capital Company Profile, per this ersol Interim Report - 1 January to 30 September 2007 (Deutsch), the Ventizz Capital Fund II LP held a 50.45% majority stake in ersol Solar Energy AG. Voting rights disclosures are available on the ersol website. Ventizz Capital Partners was a pre-IPO investor in ersol.

In addition, Ventizz Capital Partners CEO Dr. Helmut Vorndran and Managing Partner Reinhard Löchner are also ersol Supervisory Board Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively. Given the potential conflicts of interest, having this transaction “approved by the Supervisory Board of ersol” doesn’t seem very reassuring.

Besides the Ventizz Capital Partner connection, here are a few obvious questions regarding the motivation behind this transaction:

• Did the ersol Management Board not want to make further investments in ersol Thin Film?
• Has ersol been unable to otherwise finance the planned expansions and upgrades of ersol Thin Film?
• Is ersol positioning the ersol Thin Film subsidiary for a spin out or sale?

There was no disclosure of the Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG relationship with ersol Solar Energy AG in the press release. Perhaps this transaction merits further regulatory scrutiny?

Breaking news: ersol Thin Film and SCHOTT Solar forge alliance for the joint development of micromorphous thin-film technology

Interesting indeed.

ersol Thin Film: solar (sales) at work

Nova-T thin film modules really in production and shipping
500 kWp solar farm to be built in Grevenbroich, Germany

On Friday, January 18, 2007, ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) subsidiary, ersol Thin Film GmbH, announced the Sales launch of ersol Thin Film modules (Deutsch) with the signing of a 500 kWp (kilowatt-peak) module supply contract with K+C Schmidt Gbr.

Nova-T module datasheets or specifications were not available at the time of the press release. Just after the ersol Analyst Conference at the 8. Forum Solarpraxis, I heard the Nova-T amorphous silicon (a-Si) module efficiency was 5.5% implying an approximate 79 Wp (Watt-peak) power rating. If the Nova-T indeed has a 79 Wp specification, this deal involves almost 6330 modules.

Contrast these implied specifications with the recent SCHOTT Solar GmbH announcement, SCHOTT ASI 86: First Shipments From New Thin Film Factory in Jena. SCHOTT Solar produces the same sized a-Si modules based on similar Oerlikon Solar process and production equipment. SCHOTT’s ASI 86 module has 86 Wp nominal power output or about 5.93% module efficiency.

The Nova-T a-Si thin film modules are from series production and are supposed to be delivered in January and February 2008 to K+C Schmidt Gbr, a Grevenbroich, Germany, based investor, for deployment in an open space system solar farm project also located in Grevenbroich, the German capital of energy. The press release states:

The 500 kW plant equipped with ersol thin-film modules – to be operated by K+C Schmidt itself – is due to go on stream shortly and will contribute to power generation from regenerative energy.

K+C Schmidt Gbr is an affiliate company of K+C Schmidt GmbH, a real estate broker in Grevenbroich, which today operates a wind energy plant and a small photovoltaic plant.

ersol said:

This represents a decisive step for ersol Thin Film in launching this module type on the market by way of a first major project in Germany.

And this is a decisive step compared to ersol Thin Film’s indecisive second half of 2007 as their plans for a-Si thin film module production were off and then on again. ersol Thin Film Managing Director Peter Schneidewind also said:

This supply contract marks the beginning of our marketing activities. We are currently negotiating with several potential customers. So I am delighted to say that we are on the verge of signing further contracts.

I have to wonder if ersol Thin Film’s off and on yo-yo plans broke their earlier customer contracts? I hope they got things “Right from the start.” now though.

ersol Thin Film: solar (back) at work

ersol amorphous silicon thin film module production back on!

ersol expects the first micromorphous (micromorph tandem) thin film module samples to be available from mid 2008

On the heals of New experts join ersol management team (Deutsch) released earlier this week, ersol “Nova-T” thin-film module fulfils Protection Class II requirements (Deutsch) was an odd press release issued Thursday, November 1, 2007.

Why was Nova-T thin film module certification significant? In Oerlikon solar (almost) at work: ersol Thin Film delays production and reiterated by ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) CEO Dr. Claus Beneking at Solar Power 2007 (see Solar Light Flashes: October 22, 2007), amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film module production by ersol Thin Film was supposed to be cancelled in favor of accelerating micromorph tandem module production.

Per the ersol “Nova-T” press release:

Since the planned switch from amorphous to micromorphous product generation will take a fairly long time, even just because of the delivery times for key components, ersol is now planning to launch amorphous modules, as an interim step towards micromorphous production, in spring 2008.

As a result, ersol has reversed course and plans to begin a-Si module sales starting in Spring 2008. The ersol Thin Film production line has produced a-Si modules with 78Wp (Watt-peak) average stabilized capacity after the impact of the Staebler-Wronski effect.

Dr. Christian Koitzsch, Technical Director of ersol Thin Film GmbH, said:

We are already preparing for the field deployment of the Nova-T modules with the first key customers and we are looking forward to the anticipated grid connection of the first demonstration and test plants during Q1 2008. However, we have not yet decided on our production plan for 2008 as a whole.

So what is the reason for this production decision flip flop? Here are some ideas to consider.

• Successful Protection Class II verification and obtaining the CE label was a critical gating item.
• 6% module efficiency is not so bad after all.
• A brand new idle €80 Million factory does not sit well with ersol investors.
• The new management team at ersol Thin Film has had time to reevaluate the situation and changed the decision.

In any event, this development does not appear to be related to the schedule for Oerlikon’s KAI 1200^M2 micromorph deposition systems. By all accounts, KAI 1200^M2 shipments are on track per committed delivery schedules. Perhaps ersol did not get their KAI 1200^M2 orders placed early enough to be at the front of the queue?

Please click the Topic label ersol for related posts.

Here is more than you ever wanted to know about how IBM Pioneers Process to Turn Waste into Solar Energy. I am all for efficient recycling, but this news has gotten more press than justified. 13.5MWp (MegaWatt-peak) solar cell production from 3 million recycled semiconductor wafers represents a drop in the existing multi GigaWatt Photovoltaic market.

Solar Light Flashes: October 22, 2007

Select Photovoltaic News Tidbits

Once again, conferences including Solar Power 2007 and 22nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) have dominated Blog coverage since September. I have accumulated anecdotes and news about Blog staples and newer companies and topics over this time period.

Advent Solar, Inc.
During Solar Power 2007, I talked to an Advent Solar spokesperson at their Hyatt Regency Ballroom stand. The spokesperson claimed the retooling of Advent’s 25MWp (MegaWatt-peak) line to 156mm (millimeter) silicon wafers would be completed by about November 2007 and ready for production in early 2008. The expectation is laid off workers will be recalled to ramp production on the retooled line.

In contrast, before Solar Power 2007, my request for a reiterative quote from the Advent Solar Management Team about the retooling to dispel anonymous rumors of process issues with Advent’s Emitter Wrap-Through (EWT) solar cells was denied. My subsequent request to meet a member of the Advent Solar Executive Management Team at Solar Power 2007 was also denied. I may be a niche Blogger, but I don’t seem to have trouble getting to talk with Photovoltaic company CEOs. Could there be some shred of truth behind this rumor?

Blue Square Energy
After seeing my post, Select Videos from the 22nd EU PVSEC, Joe Babin from Blue Square Energy (BSE) wanted to clarify Dr. Allen Barnett’s relationship with the company. Dr. Allen Barnett sits on the Board of Directors and has a technology consulting contract with BSE. BSE President and CEO Jeffrey Barnett will present this week at VentureWire’s Alternative Energy Innovations Conference.

ersol Thin Film
I noticed ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) CEO Dr. Claus Beneking at the ersol Solar Power 2007 stand. Dr. Beneking was willing to answer a few questions about the recent developments at ersol Thin Film. He confirmed the basic facts I got from ersol reported in Oerlikon solar (almost) at work: ersol Thin Film delays production. ersol Thin Film plans to solidify their production toolset before further expansions to or by 100MWp in the 2009/2010 timeframe. ersol Thin Film expects to be the first company in production with micromorph tandem modules by adding Oerlikon’s KAI 1200^M2 deposition system to their existing production line.

GreenVolts Inc.
GreenVolts has been expanding the management team by hiring Joseph “Chip” Krauskopf as Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Smith as Director of Project Operations, Shaun Ferguson as Vice President of Global Supply Chain, and Craig Lewis as Vice President of Government Relations. Of most interest, Mr. Smith defected from SolFocus where he was the Director of Field Operations leading the ISFOC installations. Please see GreenVolts Continues Momentum With Addition Of Technology And Solar Power Veterans and GreenVolts Positions For Worldwide Expansion With Addition Of Experienced Executives for the respective press releases.

GreenVolts will also present at VentureWire’s Alternative Energy Innovations 2007 and again at the 20th NREL Industry Growth Forum.

Inside Greentech
Since Inside Greentech (was) acquired by the Cleantech Network™, LLC to become Cleantech.com, the online publication seems to have lost its charm and gone corporate. Even The Greentech Avenger has renamed himself The Cleantech Avenger. I can’t imagine Spiderman going with a name change.

M.SETEK Co.,Ltd.
M.SETEK President Ritsuo Matsumiya delivers an Opening Ceremony speech in Japanese (with English subtitles, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X0RI-eQF7U) on May 24, 2007, at their Polysilicon Plant located in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

Sol3g, S.L.
In a press release titled SOLÚCAR TRUSTS IN SOL3G from September 13, 2007, Sol3g announced Solúcar Energia, S.A. obtained a 25% stake in Sol3g by contributing 50% of the capital in a follow on financing round. The balance of the funding is a participative credit from ENISA, a government capital investment arm part of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. The proceeds will be used to execute Sol3g’s business plan and complete the production capacity expansion to 5MWp by the end of 2007. The exact Euro sums of these investments were not disclosed.

As an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) supporter, I appreciated this post, Bloggers should be allowed to join the journalist party, by Don Reisinger on his CNET The Digital Home Blog.

Speaking of Blogs, Madan’s Blog asks the question, Solar Energy - Heat or Hype?

Oerlikon solar (almost) at work: ersol Thin Film delays production

Oerlikon Solar introduces CEO, micromorph tandem, and new customer
ersol skips amorphous silicon module production to convert to micromorph
FT rumors Oerlikon is open to selling the Solar Division

On Monday, September 3, 2007, during an afternoon press conference at the 22nd EU PVSEC, Oerlikon Solar had a trio of announcements. First, with Oerlikon names Jeannine Sargent CEO of Oerlikon Solar to further expand enterprise, Ms. Sargent became the first Oerlikon Solar CEO in charge of all solar related businesses within Oerlikon. Detlev Koch-Ospelt remains the Head of Thin Film product solutions.

Next, Oerlikon Solar introduces production solutions for technologically advanced micromorph tandem modules was the formal introduction of micromorph technology by Oerlikon Solar CEO Ms. Sargent. By adding a 1.5um microcrystalline silicon bottom cell below the amorphous silicon top cell, the micromorph tandem module delivers up to 10% module efficiency at costs of less than $0.70 per Watt-peak with 100+ MWp (MegaWatt-peak) scale Fabs all by 2010.

Inventux Technologies AG was announced as the latest customer for a 33MWp micromorph tandem module production line from Oerlikon Solar. Inventux presented plans to ramp the 33MWp Phase 1 line in 2008 and expand capacity to 100MWp in 2009. Inventux will locate the new facility in southeastern Berlin near Berlin – Adlershof, Germany, very close to the new Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI) Airport.

A few days before the Oerlikon Solar press conference, ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) issued a stealth press release, ersol prepares for the next generation of thin-film technology (Deutsch) late Friday afternoon, August 31, 2007. Translating the PR speak, this should have been titled “ersol cancels amorphous silicon (A-Si) module production and accelerates production of micromorph tandem modules”.

Now I only stumbled upon the ersol news a few days later when I was checking into the Financial Times report about Oerlikon Solar discussed in the following segment. A quick visit to the ersol stand at the 22nd EU PVSEC Exhibition began the clarification process. While I was able to check the basic facts with Dr. Christian Koitzsch, Group Manger Silicon Material, he didn’t shed much light on the root motivation for the decision. The 40MWp ersol Thin Film factory was categorized as a prototype factory and the move to micromorph was explained as a necessary step to develop a competitive copy exact platform for further capacity expansions. Dr. Koitzsch did confirm recent management turnover at ersol Thin Film.

So what are the real motivations for ersol to delay production until 2008 after investing €80 Million in a new facility?

• I have to believe customers have balked at 6% efficiency modules for large scale solar power plant applications because of price per Watt and balance of system (BOS) costs. First Solar CdTe Thin Film modules have established a price per Watt cost leadership position in the large scale, grid connected, solar power plant application segment.
• Oerlikon Solar has pulled in delivery of micromorph tandem equipment creating an opportunity for new turnkey customers to start production with micromorph and placing ersol Thin Film at a disadvantage.
• Management changes at ersol Thin Film brought the usual review and reevaluation of the business unit’s strategy. It is unclear if the management turnover correlates to this decision or is an asynchronous event.

I planned to take Oerlikon Solar to task for failing to mention the ersol news. However, I have heard they were also caught off guard by the timing of this development just before the press conference.

On Wednesday, September 5, 2007, Financial Times (FT) reported:

Oerlikon would consider approaches for solar division, company source says

I received this Google alerts shocker along with the Advent Solar layoff news. In consulting with Oerlikon Solar folks at their EU PVSEC stand, they were as surprised by this one as I was.

Reading this article, could the company source here even be the same company spokesperson prodded to answer a series of leading questions? Although I have to assume FT has a credible source for such a hyped assertion, I believe FT took their cue from the organization of solar related business under Ms. Sargent in the new role of CEO Oerlikon Solar. This move telegraphs a first step to make the Oerlikon Solar business unit self contained and separable. Further speculation in the article about potential buyers demonstrates a clear lack of insight into the Photovoltaic Industry and value chain.

I see OC Oerlikon Corporation AG (VTX:OERL) committed to and making long term oriented investments in Oerlikon Solar and the solar production equipment space with great individual enthusiasm. Solar represents a lucrative, high growth business segment Oerlikon needs to drive their future growth. For corporate purposes, it could make sense for Oerlikon to monetize the value of the Oerlikon Solar business in a market receptive to solar IPOs. Oerlikon could IPO the Oerlikon Solar business while maintaining majority share ownership and control a la Cypress Semiconductor and SunPower. This IPO approach would drive more value for Oerlikon shareholders than a simple direct sale =unless= boardroom intrigues impose a different calculus near term.

Oerlikon solar at work: Intersolar 2007

ersol Thin Film in production now?

On the first day of Intersolar 2007, I stopped by the Oerlikon Solar stand and chatted at length with Juerg Steinmann from Marketing Communications.

Company building ersol Thin Film GmbH at Solar Gate 2

At Intersolar this year, Oerlikon Solar promoted Turnkey solar factories from just one supplier with the introduction of the TCO 1200 as the final element of their turnkey thin film solar module manufacturing solution, FAB 1200. The TCO 1200 deposits a Transparent Conductive Oxide on glass for front and back electrical contacts via an LPCVD (Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) process using Zinc oxide. As Mr. Steinmann pointed out, there are different flavors of Oerlikon Solar’s turnkey solutions dubbed standard/standard+ (plus), turnkey/turnkey+, and tandem depending on production line equipment selections such as the TCO 1200.

Mr. Steinmann tackled my perceptions about Oerlikon’s fixed module size of 1.1m (meters) by 1.3m having limited use in BIPV (Building Integrated PhotoVoltaics) applications. Mr. Steinmann said this module form factor was selected as the optimal size to minimize cost, maximize efficiency, and address practical issues.

First and foremost, this module form factor is designed to provide the lowest cost per Watt-peak and deliver competitive kiloWatt-hours (kWh) because of a smaller temperature coefficient than multicystalline Silicon (mc-Si) solar modules. Also, in cloud induced shading, the smaller form factor helps to maximize array output versus larger modules.

Practical considerations include the cost to replace a broken module and module handling. The module size enables a single person to carry and install the module even in countries with strict union or workplace rules about lifting.

For large scale solar power plants, this Model T product strategy has been proven a winner by First Solar, and I believe Oerlikon’s customers can be successful in this application. However, I remain skeptical whether these modules will succeed in BIPV applications.

On the technology and bookings front, Oerlikon hosted a Solar Day (including presentations) on June 15, 2007, in cooperation with manufacturing partner, ersol Thin Film GmbH. ersol Thin Film is the first Oerlikon customer on the cusp of volume thin film module production. A few statements by Dr. Uwe Krüger, Chief Executive Officer of OC Oerlikon, from the Solar Day event ring true versus Oerlikon’s competition in solar thin film manufacturing solutions.

Dr. Krüger said:

Our customers – and this is very important to us – confirm that we have a 12- to 18-month lead.

Whereas our competitors announce a lot of new developments, but so far cannot demonstrate any real production lines, the ersol fab is a reality. We don’t just promise – we deliver. Our production line turns out 120 square meters of silicon thin film solar modules per hour at a power of 70 Watt per square meter. These are real values, and not just numbers on a PowerPoint slide.

This Solar Day event is covered in Solar Newsletter No. 1 June 2007. Oerlikon Solar just began publishing this monthly newsletter called “solar at work" in English and German (Deutsch). I suggest going to Register for Newsletter or Download Newsletter to subscribe or get your copy.

For my questions regarding ersol Thin Film’s production status, Mr. Steinmann directed me to the ersol stand and Karsten Weltzien, one of ersol Thin Film’s managing directors. A last question about the status of API GmbH orders was shrugged off with no news to announce as expected.

Later at the ersol stand, Mr. Weltzien recognized me as I arrived. I first met Mr. Weltzien last year at Intersolar 2006. Mr. Weltzien confirmed ersol Thin Film’s production is sold out to a small number of key partners but could not provide any color on the official volume production start date besides production this summer.

As far as production targets and capacity, Mr. Weltzien reiterated news from the recent ersol Annual General Meeting. ersol expects to have 40MWp (MegaWatt-peak) of thin film solar module capacity in place by the end of 2007 and estimated production of 6MWp of thin film modules in 2007 and about 24MWp in 2008. ersol has also disclosed plans to increase thin film module production capacity to 100MWp by about 2010.

Source: ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) Annual Report 2006

Per Mr. Weltzien, ersol Thin Film Fab 1 production of amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film Nova® solar modules will be binned to 75Wp (Watt-peak), 80Wp, 85Wp, and 90Wp ranging from 5.25% to 6.29% in module efficiency centered at 80Wp. I trust I got these peak power bins correct since I was unable to confirm these with ersol before posting. ersol has mentioned 120Wp as a longer term target; I expect a Micromorph Tandem thin film module will be needed to achieve this goal.

Although in ersol Group inaugurates thin-film module production site, ersol states:

Serial production planned to begin at the start of August 2007.

Reading between the lines and weighing the facts, I believe ersol Thin Film can be considered in production now. I expect thin film solar modules produced until the official production announcement in August and passing all production tests and meeting quality and warranty requirements will be shipped as finished product. Please don’t read anything into my disclosure below; this is my independent assessment and intuitive assertion.

After I wrote Applied Materials Solar shuts out Oerlikon Solar 3:0, I was surprised by the level of interest this post generated although I knew there was a dearth of coverage concerning photovoltaic production equipment. As alluded to in Oerlikon Solar: Company Dramas upstage Thin Film progress, this is in fact the future post regarding positive developments at Oerlikon Solar, a division of OC Oerlikon Corporation AG (VTX:OERL).

And The OC of OC Oerlikon stands for “one company” not Orange County or Ocean City. Oerlikon is a suburb of Zürich where the company was founded back in 1906. I first noticed this connection mapping hotels in Zürich.

(Full disclosure: Last summer (2006), I was offered a position at ersol Thin Film that was later withdrawn. The details are not relevant to this disclosure; you will have to wait for my memoirs for the story – if I ever have reason to write them!)

ersol and NITOL Group sign Polysilicon supply Letter of Intent

Polysilicon back from Siberia beginning in 2008

Earlier this week at ersol's Annual General Meeting on June 5, 2007, ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the NITOL Group for an undisclosed amount of Polysilicon through 2012. ersol purports this polysilicon supply is sufficient for incremental production growth of about 140MWp over the four (4) year term. See ersol wins further cooperation partner for silicon supply (Deutsch) for the official press release.

Per Jürgen Pressl, the Management Board member responsible for the ersol Silicon and Wafers divisions, the polysilicon produced by NITOL will undergo comprehensive material testing in 2008 before approval for production subject to the LOI terms.

As I wrote in From Siberia with Polysilicon, NITOL Silicon will leverage internal trichlorosilane production to produce polysilicon using the good, old Siemens process. I suspect NITOL may be planning to provide polysilicon in the form of Czochralski monocrystalline silicon ingots.

My gross estimates indicate the projected polysilicon production represented by this deal averages to at most 350 Metric Tons of polysilicon per year. A widened deal with ersol or additional contracts with new strategic partners may be under discussion or pending proven polysilicon production material.

This is the first major polysilicon supply deal announced with Russian firms to my knowledge since I blogged about NITOL’s Siberian polysilicon and the SiPro Silicon Program in From Russia with Polysilicon.

The presentation from ersol’s Annual General Meeting is available in German (Deutsch) now along with the Präsentation zur Rede des Vorstands. This Speech of the Management Board should be released in English during work week 25 (June 18 to 22, 2007).

And kudos to ersol for having both English and German versions of their tagline:

Right from the start.
Von Anfang an.

Solar Photovoltaic company Rebrandings hit new High

Are commercials at the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and Superbowl next?

I had just noticed a few solar photovoltaic company rebrandings earlier this week when I read the Phönix SonnenStrom AG (FRA:PS4) Annual General Meeting news on the DGAP ad hoc service (English, Deutsch). Heavens Goethe, Phönix SonnenStrom has decided to rename the company Phoenix Solar AG and change their internet address to www.PhoenixSolar.com (not active at post time and old logo shown). There is already a Chinese company, Taizhou phoenix solar Co., Ltd., parked at http://www.phoenixsolar.net/.

Number two on the list is Evergreen Solar Launches Broad New Branding Campaign with an expensive multicolored logo and Think Beyond. tagline shown above to the left. The timing for this Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESLR) branding campaign was after the ill received Evergreen Solar Announces First Quarter 2007 Results and about one month before Evergreen Solar Announces Public Offering of Common Stock and Evergreen Solar Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock at $8.25 per share.

Completing the trio is ersol with new corporate design. ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6), a company known for its thriftiness, has also gone the rainbow colored logo route with the tagline ersol. Right from the start. The new logo shown left above has been rolled out across the ersol Group business segments as ersol Silicon, ersol Wafers, ersol Solar Cells, and ersol Modules. And yes, I noticed the new ersol branding while researching an Oerlikon Solar post about ersol Thin Film GmbH.

In the end, I believe solar photovoltaics is a commodity industry. If times get tough in the years ahead, these multicolored logos could be the first victims of aggressive corporate cost cutting measures.

I am thinking about jumping into the rebranding game. Maybe I should change the red and black GUNTHER Portfolio logo to orange and gray? Or perhaps green and gray? I will need to discuss this with my business card printer doing business as the Canon PIXMA iP1500. Even if my company name were in German, I would favor a dual language logo with Chinese translation a la Suntech Power instead of selling out my native tongue.

(Full disclosure: I still own some shares of ESLR stock).
Of course, all logos are the property of their respective holders.