Solar Thin Film Technology Attracts Big Players in Japan

August 24th, 2008 by Carol Gulyas

Thin film solar technology has attracted interest from venture capitalists because of its higher efficiency, lower use of limited silicon, and more easily automated production processes. Now, established Japanese players in the solar arena are getting in the thin film game, followed by companies in China and India, as reported in Renewable Energy World.

Mitsubishi Chemical already produces materials for the solar industry but sees opportunity to produce the cells themselves
Sanyo is an established producer of crystalline solar cells, but has opened an Advanced PV Development Center in Gifu, Japan to concentrate on developing thin film technology.

This is good news for solar energy advocates, as these companies have the capital and the knowledge base to ramp up production more rapidly than startups, while increasing efficiency and cost savings. According to Sanyo’s Makoto Tanaka:

“‘Our target date for volume production was 2012, but in order to move that up, we’ve decided to invest an additional US $14 million,’ said Tanaka, bringing total investment … to some US $70M through 2010. He noted that the production ramp should be eased because part of the new process is very similar to that already used in Sanyo’s mainstay heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer (HIT) cells, which sandwich a single-crystal silicon substrate between layers of amorphous silicon thin films.”

Sadly, the United States is not one of the countries competing on this scale with Sanyo and Mitsubishi, who see their main competition coming from China and India. Though the U.S. company Nanosolar has been a leading innovator in thin film, and Open Energy is making big inroads in the production of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) modules using thin film tech, they are still comparatively small players in the space, along with FirstSolar. Let’s hope that the U.S. steps up to provide the kind of legislative support that U.S. companies need to move forward at a faster pace in developing new solar technologies.

Image Credit: Ovonic.com

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Tags: Makoto Tanaka, Mitsubishi, Nanosolar, Open Energy, Renewable Energy World, Sanyo, Solar PV

About the Author

Carol Gulyas Carol Gulyas is a leader in the renewable energy community in Illinois, where she serves as VP of the Board of the Illinois Solar Energy Association. Recently she co-founded EcoAchievers -- a provider of online education for the renewable energy and sustainable living community. She spent 18 years in the direct marketing industry in New York and Chicago, and is currently a teaching librarian at Columbia College Chicago. Carol grew up in a small town in central Indiana, then lived in the Pacific Northwest, Lima, Peru, and New York City. She is inspired by reducing energy consumption through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green building technology.

http://www.totalsolarenergy.co.uk/residential-solar-power.html Total Solar Energy

i can’t believe the US is lagging behind here. It really should be at the forefront of developing these technologies.
http://www.totalsolarenergy.co.uk/residential-solar-power.html Total Solar Energy

i can’t believe the US is lagging behind here. It really should be at the forefront of developing these technologies.
http://www.totalsolarenergy.co.uk/residential-solar-power.html Total Solar Energy

i can’t believe the US is lagging behind here. It really should be at the forefront of developing these technologies.
Sonny

Xsunx is ramping up operations in thin film. They are U.S. outfit. Why did you not list them in this article?
Sonny

Xsunx is ramping up operations in thin film. They are U.S. outfit. Why did you not list them in this article?
Sonny

Xsunx is ramping up operations in thin film. They are U.S. outfit. Why did you not list them in this article?
Chris V

Nanosolar is already producing product, which makes them the leaders in thin film production. In fact, their entire production run for 2009 is already purchased. Today there is far more demand than supply, so no one is going to go out of business from the entry of additional competitors to this market.
Chris V

Nanosolar is already producing product, which makes them the leaders in thin film production. In fact, their entire production run for 2009 is already purchased. Today there is far more demand than supply, so no one is going to go out of business from the entry of additional competitors to this market.
http://www.greenpacks.org Alex

That’s definitely the future in solar energy and the Japanese had a fine smell for that one. All I can say is good job on getting rid of oil dependence.
http://www.greenpacks.org Alex

That’s definitely the future in solar energy and the Japanese had a fine smell for that one. All I can say is good job on getting rid of oil dependence.
http://www.greenpacks.org Alex

That’s definitely the future in solar energy and the Japanese had a fine smell for that one. All I can say is good job on getting rid of oil dependence.