Asahi Glass plans to spend a total of JPY 13 billion (USD 121.9 million) to expand its facilities in China and Japan for the production of specialty glass for solar cells. The company is aiming at sal…
Asahi Glass plans to spend a total of JPY 13 billion (USD 121.9 million) to expand its facilities in China and Japan for the production of specialty glass for solar cells. The company is aiming at sales of JPY 60 billion in 2010 for this type of glass, up from the current JPY 12 billion. The firm plans to install a furnace for cover glass for use in crystalline silicon solar cells at its Suzhou plant in China, along with an anti-reflection coating line. In Japan it will add a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) coating line for thin-film solar cells at its Aichi plant. Figured glass is used in crystalline silicon solar cells as cover glass to reduce sunlight reflection. The Tokyo-based company currently makes the cover glass in the US, Belgium and the Philippines. As the Chinese market is anticipated to grow, it has been decided to start making the glass there as well. The new furnace, with an output capacity of 7 million m2/year, and the anti-reflection coating line will be built at subsidiary AGC Flat Glass (Suzhou) Co. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in the 2Q 2009. Asahi Glass produces glass substrates for thin-film solar cells in the US and Thailand and has facilities to coat the substrates with TCO film in the US and at Aichi in Japan. The installation of the additional 6 million-m2/year line at Aichi this 4Q is to meet the needs of Japanese manufacturers of photovoltaic cells, who are planning significant production expansions for thin-film solar cells. Asahi Glass will also shortly start operation of a TCO coating line in Belgium.