Japan's industry, academics join hands to make cheaper solar cells - report

Dec 11, 2012 - The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan on Tuesday created a consortium with 19 firms and universities to develop lower-cost solar cells, daily Nikkei reported.

The tie-up will provide the technologies it develops to local companies in order to make them more competitive after they were hit by low prices offered by foreign rivals.

The band includes local solar cell makers Sharp Corp (TYO:6753) and Panasonic Corp (TYO:6752) and materials and component manufacturers Asahi Glass Co (TYO:5201) and Dainippon Screen Mfg (TYO:7735). Fukushima University will also be part of the group. Overall, around 100 researchers are likely to take part in the initiative, the paper said.

The consortium intends to invest around JPY 2 billion (USD 24m/EUR 19m) to install by spring 2014 a production line with an annual capacity of around 100,000 prototypes. The line will be set up at a renewable energy research and development (R&D) facility to be built in Fukushima Prefecture by AIST.

The researchers' aim is to develop prototypes of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells with a thickness of below 100 microns, which is half the thickness of current models, within five years. The production costs are expected to be reduced to less than JPY 50 per watt.

(JPY 100.0 = USD 1.215/EUR 0.938)

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