Featured in A Teutonic shift – 02-2018

Made in Germany

PV equipment supply: While the bulk of the world’s solar module manufacturing is now located in China, supply of production tools has remained largely the remit of European, and particularly German, engineering companies. pv magazine investigates whether this dominance can continue as China’s equipment providers begin to step up their game.

By

Mark Hutchins

14 Feb 2018

CIGS production line from Germany’s Manz AG. With several large factories under construction in China, CIGS is one area where, so far, German tool suppliers have maintained large market share. | Image: Manz AG

Solar manufacturing equipment suppliers had a strong year in 2017. The PERC upgrade cycle continued, interest in black silicon processes saw a resurgence among leading manufacturers, and several new CIGS thin film capacities are under construction in China, to name but a few of the trends that have kept equipment suppliers’ order books well filled …

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