JA Solar Signs Strategic Agreements With Innovalight
JA Solar signed a three-year supply agreement for silicon nanoparticle ink from Innovalight for the production of JA Solar's recently announced SECIUM high efficiency solar cells. Pilot production of the SECIUM cells began in May with commercial volume production planned in the second half of 2010.
JA Solar has achieved conversion efficiency of 18.9 percent for its SECIUM solar cells and these results have been independently certified by The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany. The new cost effective, high efficiency solar cells enable substantially better spectral response at short wavelengths in comparison with standard solar cells and therefore have higher conversion efficiency than conventional solar cells from other manufacturers.
JA Solar and Innovalight also announced that they have signed a strategic agreement to co-develop solar cells with conversion efficiencies exceeding 20 percent. Development will be performed at both Innovalight's headquarters in California and at JA Solar's R&D center in China.
"We are very excited about the strong partnership we have established with Innovalight," said Dr. Peng Fang, chief executive officer at JA Solar. "JA Solar will continue to stay at the forefront of solar cell technology and commercial production of high-efficiency solar cells through partnerships between our internal R&D group and external partners like Innovalight," he added.
Innovalight manufactures a proprietary nanotechnology-based silicon ink and licenses a proprietary platform process which allows a simple upgrade to solar cell manufacturing production lines to boost performance of solar cells and lower production costs.
"JA Solar is a world leader in solar cell production and a pioneer in advancing solar technology," said Conrad Burke, chief executive officer at Innovalight. "I am delighted with this long-term commercial agreement as well as our plans to jointly develop new products," he added.
