Meyer Burger buys wafers from different manufacturers

From pv magazine Germany

Swiss heterojunction module manufacturer Meyer Burger has concluded wafer supply contracts with several manufacturers and has assured that suppliers will provide wafers made of polysilicon coming from European manufacturer Wacker Chemie.

Meyer Burger needs the wafers for the production of its heterojunction solar cells and solar modules. The company plans to start production at the Bitterfeld-Wolfen and Freiberg factories in Germany this quarter. The facilities will initially have an annual capacity of 400 MW each, that will be expanded to 5 GW by 2026.

By using silicon from Wacker Chemie, Meyer Burger claims that it is meeting the high footprint requirements in the French photovoltaic market, among other things. “By disclosing the supply chain, we are underlining our high demands on the sustainability of our products,” said Gunter Erfurt, CEO of Meyer Burger.

The photovoltaic company claims it wants to produce not only the best but also the cleanest solar modules, whereby not only will the raw materials play a role, but also high ecological and social production standards. “Our new patented technology allows the use of particularly thin wafers that can only be produced with high-quality polysilicon,” continued Erfurt.

Meyer Burger plans to officially present its heterojunction solar modules, with Smartwire technology, on April 27. The delivery of the products should then, probably, begin in the summer. The company is bringing important parts of the photovoltaic supply chain back to Europe with the construction of its production facilities. “Our goal is to source as many of the components of our product as possible in Europe,” concluded Erfurt.