Samsung Electronics announced its first foray into the solar cell industry by opening a new R and D production facility for crystalline silicon solar cells at its Giheung Complex, just south of Seoul. The line, which will produce 30 Megawatt photovoltaic cells, has been in operation since earlier this month.
Samsung leveraged its leadership and expertise in the semiconductor and LCD industries to rapidly establish the production line, sourcing 85 percent of equipment locally and beginning operations just 40 days after the installation of equipment began.
Samsung aims to enhance its solar cell production facility technologies in order to give the company the price competitiveness needed to launch a mass production line in the future. The decision to source equipment locally instead of importing a turnkey solution enabled Samsung to cut development time in half and will also allow for more efficient and cost-effective line operation and mass production.
Samsung is already engaged in research and development programs for crystalline solar cells and has achieved record conversion efficiency for crystalline solar cells. Drawing on its experience in semiconductor and LCD panel production, the company is striving to develop new technologies that will help it attain even higher efficiencies.
"With the development and operation of this PV line, we have laid the groundwork and taken Samsung one step closer to developing highly efficient solar cells," said Donguk Choi, Vice President, Solar Energy Business Team, LCD Division, Samsung Electronics. "Based on our strengths in manufacturing facilities and processes, we will continue to prepare Samsung to play a leading role in the solar cell market by 2015."
In addition to crystalline solar cells, Samsung Electronics is carrying out research in thin film solar cells including amorphous silicon (a-Si) and CIGS (copper, indium, gallium and selenium). Because thin film solar cells are a low-cost and lightweight material, they can be utilized in various ways, such as installation on curved walls, windows, and roofs.
Samsung sees strong future growth in solar cells as demand for clean, renewable sources of energy increases globally. Industry forecasts estimate that the global solar cell market will expand from 5.1 Gigawatts (GW) this year to 10.5GW in 2012.
In July, Samsung Electronics announced a new green management initiative aiming to make Samsung a leading eco-friendly company by 2013. The initiative included commitments for investing in research and development, development of eco-friendly products, energy-saving technologies and greening of manufacturing facilities.
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