PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Interview with Frans van den Heuvel, managing director of Scheuten Solar

In July 2003, the Dutch company Scheuten Glas Groep took over the insolvent module manufacturer Flabeg Solar. In doing so, they obtained a highly automated production line in Gelsenkirchen, Germany with an approximate annual capacity of 10 MW – which is directly located beside Shell Solar's only European cell factory. Even when Flabeg Solar was still in business, relations between the two companies were not exactly neighborly. The originally planned »integrated production process« with cells from Shell for modules from Scheuten never took place. Now the neighbors are also parting ways in terms of location. On May 11, Scheuten laid the foundation stone for a new 100 MW factory at a different spot in Gelsenkirchen. But that should only be a small contribution to an expansion plan of remarkable proportions: Scheuten aims to reach a capacity of 1 GW within the next six to seven years, above all with thin-film technology made in Europe and Asia.

	© photon-pictures.com
Frans van den Heuvel, managing director of Scheuten Solar.

PHOTON Frans van den Heuvel, why has Scheuten Solar stuck with Gelsenkirchen as the location for the expansion of its plant? Higher levels of investment grants would definitely have been received if a location in the Eastern German states had been chosen.

Van den Heuvel There were two decisive factors involved in choosing Gelsenkirchen. The first is that it is close to our headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands, where our research and development center is located. The other factor was that we had access to the very experienced know-how of our personnel, and this couldn't have been achieved as quickly in Eastern Germany.

PHOTON So money isn't everything when deciding on an investment?

Van den Heuvel No one can dispute that this does play an important role. However, we feel morally obligated to the city of Gelsenkirchen and to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for all their previous efforts and this also played a role in our decision.

PHOTON What are the reasons for your move within Gelsenkirchen then?

Van den Heuvel One of the reasons is that the building we've occupied up to now is anything other than optimal in terms of layout, air conditioning, and logistics. We have consciously constructed the new building so that we are already prepared for any future developments. Up to now we have been producing 20 MW of laminated modules and 3 MW in the glass-glass range. In the new factory we will start with an annual production of 50 MW. But that is only to be the first rung on the ladder. The space we have in the new factory is big enough to install three production lines with a total capacity of around 110 MW.

PHOTON To what extent will the production lines be altered in the new factory?

Van den Heuvel We have planned several different systems. Our current production line is highly automated and we want to stick with this. A smaller flex system to produce special dimensions is another thing that is definitely to be added. The new 30 MW line is not as highly automated because we want to use the opportunity to be able to process 5 and 6 inch cells according to market demand.

PHOTON When you moved to your current production plant a little over two years ago, you had to pull down a wall in order to get the laminator into the hall. Is that going to happen again the other way around soon?

Van den Heuvel [smiling] That's how it is.

© Scheuten Solar Technology GmbH

»Ready for future developments«: A sketch of the new plant, for which the foundation stone was laid on May 11.

PHOTON In your new factory you would like to begin production with an annual capacity of 50 MW. Is there a timetable for the further stages of expansion?

Van den Heuvel All further plans depend on securing raw material. In order to stay on the safe side of things, we soon want to change to paying in advance when buying material.

PHOTON Besides this, you're also working on alliances with other companies for securing raw materials.

Van den Heuvel Yes, that's right. But I don't wish to say more about that at the moment.

PHOTON North Rhine-Westphalia's state government in Düsseldorf had hoped for an alliance with regard to various materials for their so-called Solar Valley in Gelsenkirchen: Shell would produce the cells, and Flabeg Solar, your predecessor, would process the cells into modules a short while later next door. In practice, this »Integrated Manufacturing Facility« never worked out. Are you going to use cells from Shell in your new production site?

Van den Heuvel In principle, we don't buy any cells from Shell. What's more, we know that Shell needs its own cells for its own projects. Despite this, there is partial cooperation. On the roof of our new plant we have modules with cells from Shell, which makes sense due to the proximity. We also build modules for Shell, which are then sold under their own label.

PHOTON Scheuten Solar is not only pursuing expansion plans for its location in Gelsenkirchen, but also in South Korea. What are you planning to do there?

Van den Heuvel In Korea we wish to be active as a system integrator and a project initiator at first. The administration in Seoul has some interesting funding programs. Thus, for example, investments in government buildings require a 5-percent share for renewable energies. Here it is obvious to think about building-integrated solutions. We have already implemented our first few projects. It's no secret that we're considering production in South Korea (see PI 1/2005, p. 32).

PHOTON Is there a schedule?

Van den Heuvel If all the materials needed were secured, we could start tomorrow. We would then begin with an annual production of 30 MW in Korea.

PHOTON Do you consider Korea to be a door-opener into the whole Asian market?

Van den Heuvel Without question. We see Korea as a good bridge for us to be able to serve the Chinese market, for example, too. And not only China has ambitious expansion plans, but also Malaysia, Taiwan, or Thailand. Even in Vietnam one can notice first initiatives, be they comparatively small. But even such a market will grow. The market potential in Asia is huge.

© photon-pictures.com

»Anything other than optimal«: The module factory in Gelsenkirchen was once constructed by Flabeg and will soon be abandoned by Scheuten.

PHOTON Are there plans at Scheuten to build further manufacturing facilities?

Van den Heuvel We're keeping our options open on this. Our main attention currently lies next to Gelsenkirchen in Venlo, where we are building our 10 MW pilot line for thin-film cells. After all, we've worked on our CIS cell concept for six years, and we want to introduce it to the market shortly. This year is an important year for Scheuten and it will show how all of our plans will turn out.

PHOTON What's new with your CIS cells?

Van den Heuvel I don't wish to comment on the technical details at the moment. For now, this much I will say: with our development, it will soon be possible to design a cell structure on large areas even with thin-film cells. In the future we want to build modules with our technology measuring 6 x 3 m. When such dimensions come into play, we see the chance the construction industry will accept PV – or at least the glass industry, to which we belong. Thereby, totally new possibilities arise for photovoltaics integrated into buildings.

PHOTON Is Scheuten's entry into thin-film cells technology also an answer to the shortage of silicon at the moment?

Van den Heuvel Definitely! That's why we are also planning to produce our CIS cells in greater volumes. The pilot plant alone, at a size of 10 MW, is not exactly an everyday occurrence.

PHOTON You already announced a capacity of 1,000 MW two years ago for 2010. Is the situation still the same?

Van den Heuvel By 2009 or 2010 we would like to reach in any case an annual capacity of 100 MW. If production remains stable, we believe it's realistic to get into the gigawatt range two years later. Our strategy on entering the thin-film technology has always been designed for the gigawatt range.

PHOTON What investments have to be made to make this jump to the gigawatt level?

Van den Heuvel It's sure to be a large amount. We don't wish to give exact information about this at the moment, however our ambitions are definitely great. All of these plans will dwarf our glass business, which still accounts for 60 percent of our turnover. Even the 50 MW module factory in Gelsenkirchen alone will displace glass from its number-one spot in terms of company turnover.

PHOTON Wouldn't it make sense to integrate full production when dealing with such an investment? Are you thinking about breaking into cell production?

Van den Heuvel A categorical »No« – that's the decision of our group. We want to grow in the module field – to lead technologically, in order to always be able to offer our customers the newest technology. We don't want to get ourselves bogged down. We are aware of our strengths. In terms of timing, we were too late to follow SolarWorld, for example, as a fully integrated supplier.