PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

STMicro close to decision on DSC or other PV thin-film production

Following three years of research and what it terms »a pre-industrialization phase,« Swiss-headquartered semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics is expected to make a decision in the first quarter of 2006 on whether to start production of low-cost solar cells.

Salvatore Coffa, R&D manager at the company's Italian industrial center in Catania, Sicily, says his team has been working on prototypes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) and another thin-film technology that he declined to name, both with efficiencies of at least 8 percent. The aim would be to produce cells at a cost »significantly lower« than $1 per W, perhaps in the 30¢ to 40¢ range, with a production capacity possibly between 50 and 100 MW, he says.

Although Coffa is more than 80 percent sure STM will decide to go with one of the PV technologies, solar still has to compete with other technologies, such as fuel cells and silicon photonics, for the final commercialization go-ahead. Overall, STM has invested around $30 million in R&D to come up with a new renewable energy product.

If PV production starts, it is still unclear whether STM would decide to do both manufacturing and sales, or would look for a partner in the building construction industry to sell the product. While manufacturing could be done at the Catania site, STM would also consider locations in Europe, Singapore, and the US where the company has production facilities. STM's only commercial experience with solar is a component it produces for adjusting voltage in PV inverters.