Apr 14 2009
Air Products (NYSE:APD) today announced it has signed a gas supply contract to provide bulk and specialty gases to CHINT Solar (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. (CHINT Solar) at its new thin-film photovoltaic (PV) facility in Binjiang District, Hangzhou, China. The contract calls for the supply of hydrogen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty gases such as silane, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and dopant mixtures.
CHINT Solar is a subsidiary of CHINT Group Corporation, a producer of low-voltage electrical power transmission and distribution industries in China. Specializing in the manufacturing of photovoltaic products, CHINT Solar’s annual production capacity of crystalline and thin-film PV is expected to exceed 300MW by 2010.
“Air Products is excited to be CHINT Solar’s gas supply partner, and we look forward to applying our expertise in thin-film photovoltaic applications to help them quickly reach their goal of 210MW in thin-film PV by 2010,” said Corning Painter, Air Products’ vice president and general manager, Global Electronics Division. “Grid parity is key for the PV industry. Air Products continues to lower our customers’ cost-per-watt through innovative technical, product and equipment solutions.”
CHINT Solar’s thin-film PV modules, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, will be manufactured in much the same way as thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD). As the leading supplier to the TFT-LCD industry, Air Products is ideally suited to supply the new facility.
Last year, Air Products won more than 20 new contracts in Asia serving both the crystalline and thin-film PV markets. “We are well positioned to meet the growing needs of our customers around the world, particularly in Asia,” said Painter.