Opening of the AVANCIS plant.
A successful production is taking off.
Press contact
AVANCIS GmbH & Co. KG
Mr. Angel Martinez
Solarstrasse 3
04860 Torgau
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 3421 7388-251
angel.martinez@avancis.de
Contact address
AVANCIS GmbH & Co. KG
Solarstrasse 3
04860 Torgau
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0)3421 7388-0
Fax: +49 (0)3421 7388-0
Press release Torgau
, October 21, 2009
Full speed ahead: Avancis started up two further production lines and achieves maximum production capacity.
The solar module manufacturer AVANCIS has achieved its maximum production capacity of 20 MWp.p.a. at its plant in Torgau, Saxony. This milestone marks the successful conclusion of the CIS thin-film solar module manufacturer’s start-up phase. Since the beginning of the year, AVANCIS has been producing and marketing high-performance modules called PowerMax.
“We are delighted to have successfully completed the ramp-up phase at our production plant and at the same time we have now reached our full production capacity,” says Hartmut Fischer, CEO of AVANCIS. “It represents the consistent implementation of our growth plans and enables us to satisfy the growing market demand for our product. As one of the pioneers in the CIS thin-film sector, we are among the technology leaders and offer PowerMax, a high-performance module with proven quality ‘Made in Germany'.”
Concurrent to the increase in production, the manufacturing plant’s performance curve is continuously rising as well. The first modules of the highest performance class of 120 Wp have already been produced – corresponding to a module efficiency of over 11%. The majority of the production currently runs at 10% efficiency (100/110 Wp) – AVANCIS is convinced to be able to improve efficiency even further in the future. Customers are rewarding the latest developments with numerous orders for the current quarter.
The AVANCIS facility in Torgau is among the most modern production facilities for high-quality solar modules in the world. Production is highly automated and runs in a four-shift operation seven days a week in order to meet the demand. Since October of last year an experienced team of over 150 staff members is working at this site, which is located near Leipzig. Additionally, AVANCIS has a research and development department in Munich, staffed with over 40 employees who constantly work on innovations and improvements in efficiency. In August of this year AVANCIS was integrated into the French glass and construction materials group Saint-Gobain and therefore became part of an international corporation that is driving forward its activities in the field of renewable energies.
About AVANCIS:
AVANCIS develops and produces thin-film photovoltaics modules based on CIS (Copper-Indium-Selenide). The innovative manufacturing process is based on second-generation CIS technology that was developed at AVANCIS’s research and development department in Munich. The production capacity of the first factory at the company’s headquarters in Torgau, Saxony, is 20 Megawatt-peak per annum (MWp/a).
Siemens, Shell and Saint-Gobain are big names that supported AVANCIS’s present-day technology very early on – and which are closely linked with successes in the field of photovoltaics. As a result, AVANCIS – as a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain – is able to profit from many years’ experience in the coating and heat treatment of glass, two of the core areas of expertise of one of the world’s leading providers of glass for construction and automobiles.
For further information, please contact:
AVANCIS GmbH & Co. KG
Angel Martinez
Senior Manager Marketing & Sales
Solarstrasse 3, 04860 Torgau, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)3421 7388-251
Fax: +49 (0)3421 7388-111
Angel.Martinez@avancis.de
www.avancis.de
State-of-the-art technology: AVANCIS is producing high performance thin-film modules at its production plant in Torgau.